Lion King III: Rise of Simba
by Rogue-Lion
Summary: Sometimes the past can be filled with pain, but that doesn't mean it can't also be filled with joy. Join Simba as he relives his past life where he discovered the joys of being a parent, came face to face with cubhood friends, learned the responsibilities of being Lion King, and... faced off against Scar's personal Lion Guard? This is one adventure you don't want to miss!
1. Chapter 1

**Hello everyone and welcome to the re-installment of the Lion King: Rise of Simba. This was my very first story ever written a while back and it gained a lot of traction but sadly it was never finished due to issues with school, other writing, and lack of drive due to other content like the Lion Guard debunking certain theories. But with season 3 of the series ending, I can do this story right and give you all a series worth reading and that you all deserve. **

**To my old fans, I'm sorry that I had to take down the old story. It was a hard decision and one that kept me from doing this. The chapters are still saved but in order to reboot this I needed to start from the ground and work my way back up. To my new readers, I hope you enjoy this story and that it brightens your day and entertains you. With that being said guys, let's get started!**

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**Chapter 1: Morning in the Pride Lands**

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_**Some of us fall by the wayside and some of us sore to the stars. Some of us sail through out troubles and some have to live with the scars**_

_**-Elton John**_

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"_Naaaaants igonyaaaaaama bagithi-baba!"_

As the sun began to rise over the African Savannah, a loud singing rose up and shook the silence that once peaceful land. It trailed off as an echo into the distance, traveling far and wide. The sound's source came from the tree of the wise mandrill Rafiki, though it did not belong to him. In fact, the poor old mejuzi was still asleep, tossing and turning in his leaf bed as the voice continued on.

"_Naaaaants igonyaaaaaama bagithi-baba!"_

"Aiiiieeee! What dis all dat racket?!" Rafiki exclaimed as he pulled the covers off and hopped out of bed.. By now he had had enough. It was too early in the morning for this type of noise. Grabbing his staff, he hurried up to the top of the tree, ready to shut up whoever it was that was making that noise. As he got to the top, he saw an interesting sight. The one singing was a young mandrill who was half Rafiki's size and was stretched out on a nearby branch.

"_Naaaaants igonyaaaaaama bagithi-babaaaaa!" _

"Ay!" Rafiki shouted as he clonked the mandrill on the head with his staff, "Keep it down! You don't get to be 112 years old by missing naps!" The mandrill let out a yelp from the whack on the head, causing him to grab his top with both hands. When he turned around, he revealed that he was a sturdy young fellow with brown neck fur and a rather sheepish look on his face.

"Teacher! I didn't wake you, did I? Hehehe." He replied shyly, trying to lighten the mood a bit while rubbing his new lump on his head. Rafiki couldn't help but smile as he shook his head, as if to express his curiosity towards his apprentice.

"Marifa," Rafiki addressed him in calm tone, "what on earth do you think you are doing?" The young lad known as Marifa began to scratch the back of his head, feeling a little embarrassed.

"Sorry, Master." He said in a humble tone, "I was just practicing my ceremony announcement for when I present the heirs to the Pride Lands. How did I do?"

"How did you do?!" laughed the old monkey as he walked up to Marifa and put his hand on his shoulder, "Marifa my boy, you did great! But warn me the next time before you do that! I don't want to wake up one day to see a bunch of animals at our door step because of your singing." This earned a smile from the young mandrill as he looked up at Rafiki with pride.

Suddenly, a loud roar echoed through the sky, causing both Rafiki and Marifa to look towards the horizon. Though the land was still dark, Rafiki could just barely make out a small image of the place known as Pride Rock; where the Lion King and his pride lived. The mejuzi smiled, knowing that lions were awakening and it wouldn't be long until they would be on their way to their tree.

"We will soon be having guests," he said to his young apprentice.

"The king?" Marifa asked.

"Mmhm." Rafiki nodded before motioning back to the tree with his staff. "Come, come! We have a lot to do before the sun fully rises!" obeying his teacher, Marifa followed Rafiki back into the tree and began making preparations for their upcoming guests.

Now Marifa was not Rafiki's first apprentice. A while back, Rafiki had found Marifa, lost and alone in the Pride Lands, and decided to take him in and raise him as his own. During this time, he had learned that his first apprentice, whom he had been grooming to take after him in the Pride Lands, was called to be the royal Mejuzi of the Night Pride. Though he was happy that she had found her place of belonging, Rafiki knew that he had been the mejuzi of the Pride Lands for a long time, and knew he wasn't going to be around forever. So, he needed someone who he could pass down his wisdom and knowledge too. When he asked Marifa if he would like to be his apprentice, Marifa was simply delighted by the offer, and Rafiki was more than happy take him under his wing. As time passed, Marifa became quite wise and was skilled with all types of herbs and medicine, as well as keeping the histories of the Pride Lands. Marifa thought that he had learned every single detail of the Lion King's history, but today, he would discover a story that would surprise not only himself, but Simba's family as well.

Unlike Rafiki and Marifa, back at Pride Rock, there was one lion who was not having such a good morning.

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At the royal den, a young lioness stepped out of the cave and into the sunlight. It was Kiara, daughter of Simba and the heir to the Pride Lands. Normally in the morning, she would be seen spending time with 'her soon to be mate' Kovu. This time, however, she was all alone with no one around but herself. She took a deep breath, enjoying the crisp fresh morning air and made her way towards the tip of Pride Rock.

The golden lioness gazed out at the kingdom that would one day be hers and watched as the many different animals in the kingdom began to wake up and go about their daily lives. Everyone seemed happy, yet, Kiara could not say the same about herself. Everything was as it should be. The conflict between the Outlands and the Pride Lands were over, and there was no reason for worry, yet for some reason, the young lioness found herself feeling as though something was still wrong.

Kiara sprawled herself on the tip of Pride Rock, letting her paws dangle over the edge while she just aimlessly looked out at the vast savannah. For many years Kiara remembered feeling empty, as if something was just out of place. That changed after Kovu came into her life. Whenever he was around, Kiara felt that certain piece of her life suddenly click back into place. He made her happy. She should have been happy, yet as time progressed that sinking feeling slowly returned, and it was worse than she remembered. She never told anyone in her family about it. for she didn't want them to worry about her. Never the less, Kiara wasn't entirely sure she knew exactly what she was even feeling.

Sadness? A strong longing? Regret? It was all so confusing for her to process. She had only felt this way once in the past, and it was when she had to say goodbye to someone dear to her, and though she still missed him, she found herself missing someone else. It was all so bizarre and confused her greatly.

Kiara groaned, not being able to make sense of it all. She was so lost in thought she didn't even hear the footsteps coming up behind her.

"You know," a familiar feminine voice said, "If you go any closer to that edge, you'll fall off for sure." Kiara looked back and smiled when she saw her two cub-hood friends standing behind her.

"Tiifu, Zuri." Kiara smiled when she saw her friends Tiifu and Zuri. Out of all of the lions in Pride Rock, they were two of the closest people in her life besides her parents. Both of them stood side by side, with big smiles on their faces as their pelts shown in the sun. Ever since Simba increased Kiara's royal training, she hadn't been able to spend as much time with her friends as she used to. Seeing them stand before her now, almost fully adults, made Kiara realize just how quickly time had flown by.

"It's been a while, hasn't it?" Kiara asked, giving her friends a sheepish grin.

"Girl," Zuri began as she cocked her neck as she spoke, "It's been like fo-ev-er. Where have you been?"

"Oh, you know," Kiara smiled while gesturing with her paw, "this and that, stopping wars, saving the Pride Lands, the usual."

"Sounds like something Kion would say." Zuri said, "I bet he would have been proud."

"Heh, yeah," Kiara sighed, "I'm… sure he would." Not since Nala's journey out of the Pride Lands had the pride felt so empty since Kion left. Second born son of the royal family and leader of the Lion Guard, Prince Kion was once the protector of the kingdom. Yet after a great battle in the Outlands he had been bitten by a cobra and had to make a great journey to the Tree of Life in order to recover from the experience. Since then he had not only recovered but fallen in love with the Queen of the Tree of Life. Kiara was happy for him and even journeyed to the Night Pride in order to be present for his wedding and ceremony. Despite this, Pride Rock just wasn't the same without him and his friends. Thinking about him made Kiara groaned internally. The last thing she needed was a reminder of more things that was lacking in her life.

Seeing that mentioning Kion made Kiara drop her mood a bit, Zuri shot Tiifu one of those, 'you just had to open your mouth' looks. Tiifu gritted her teeth and began to scratch the back of her neck with her paw, realizing the mistake she made.

"So… how are things going with you and Kovu?" Tiifu asked in an attempt to change the subject.

"Things have been good." Kiara replied, "We've been going out for some time, my dad just recently started teaching him about the royal duties and-"

"Has he proposed yet?" Zuri blurted out, unable to contain her curiosity.

"Zuri!" Tiifu scolded, surprised by such an abrupt statement.

"What! I can't help it!" Zuri whined in response to Tiifu, "You know I'm a sucker for romance! Just think: a prince and a princess, born in two separate worlds, somehow finding their way together. Their families rejected their love for each other, so they ran away together, only to return for their loved ones and bring peace to the land and live happily ever after! EEEEEE! I just get all giddy just thinking about it!"

Kiara just chuckled and shook her head in amusement as Zuri bounced around in excitement. Even after all this time, her friends were still like those small girly cubs she grew up with. She was glad that they were in her life.

"He hasn't proposed yet," Kiara answered, "I'm sure he's just waiting for the right time."

"Awwww," Zuri pouted in disappointment. Tiifu however nodded her head and asked: "So you're ok with that?"

"Well, yeah. It's not like there's some due date that we should be married by, plus I'm sure that him and other Outlanders are still trying to adjust to living here."

"Then why the long face?" Kiara was about to say that everything was fine, but Tiifu stopped her. "Come one Kiara, we've known each other since forever. Zuri and I can tell when something is bothering you. So, what is it?" Kiara was hesitant at first, contemplating on whether or not to share her feelings. They may be able to help her out, and they were less likely to freak out about it. Besides, what did she have to lose?

"Well…" Kiara murmured as she started to shuffle her paws a bit.

"Well?" Zuri nudged.

"Do you two remember when we were young, like, really young? Before Kion was around?" This question caused both lionesses to pause for a moment and think.

"Sort of." Zuri said.

"Bits and pieces." Tiifu followed up, "Why?"

"Was there…" Kiara slowly began, "Was there ever someone else?" Both lionesses thought hard for a moment, but they both replied in unison: "No, not really." Seeing that she wasn't getting anywhere, Kiara decided to explain.

"I don't know why, but for some reason I've been having these dreams of when I was really little, and there would always be this cub in it."

"A cub?" Zuri asked, raising and eyebrow.

"Do you know who?" Tiifu asked.

"That's just it," Kiara replied in frustration, "I don't know who he is. He always appears as a blur, but he spoke with such a soft voice. He would always be telling me not to worry or asking if I'm doing ok, but I have no idea who he is or if this is just something from my imagination."

"Weird." Was all her friends could say, "Have you thought about asking king Simba about this?"

"No way," Kiara said quickly, shaking her head furiously, "My dad would probably freak out if I told him. You know how he is with visions and dreams. Besides, if it really was something from when I was young, he would have told me about it."

"Well…" Tiifu said, "It wouldn't hurt to try. I mean, he is your dad, he might know what's going on." At this point, Kiara honestly didn't know what to think. Sure, Tiifu's words made sense, but she still wasn't entirely sure about it. She was an adult now, and though she respected her father and talked to him about pretty much everything, she didn't want to go to him every time she had a problem.

"Hello everyone," a voice behind them said, "Is everything alright?" Kiara and her friends looked back to see none other than her father, the Lion King himself, Simba, standing there with a smirk on his face. Instinctively, she and her friends panicked a bit.

"Everything's fine, Dad!" Kiara blurted out as she stood up straight.

"Everything is great your highness!" Tiifu said, following in Kiara's example.

"Meep!" Zuri squeaked; she didn't know what to do. She was always nervous when it came to talking with the king.

"So, ladies," Simba chuckled heartily, more so at how Zuri was shaking so much. She always did that when he was addressing her or her friends, "What are you all doing up so early?"

"Oh, nothing," Kiara said, going back to her cheerful attitude so that her dad wouldn't suspect anything, "Just girl talk, catching up on some stuff."

"I see." Simba said as he raised an eyebrow at his daughter. She was giving him that smile; that innocent, toothy grin that she would always give him whenever she was hiding something. "You sure nothing's wrong?"

"Oh, Simba, you can't go one day without fretting over our daughter, now can you?" A feminine voice said from behind the king, "She's a young adult now. You don't have to pry on every single conversation she has with her friends." Simba sighed as a tan cream furred lioness walked up beside him as she gazed at his amber red eyes with her aqua blue eyes.

"I know, Nala." Simba sighed at his mate and then turned back to face Kiara, "I'm sorry, princess." Kiara responded by walking up to her father and nuzzling his head with hers.

"Oh," Zuri gasped as she began to tear up at the sight of Kiara hugging her dad, "Family moments always make me get emotional."

"Everything makes you emotional." Tiifu muttered under her breath.

"What was that?" Zuri asked her friend in a threatening tone to which Tiifu stiffened and replied: "Uh, nothing!"

Just then, two other lions walked out of the den and approached the group. One was a male lion with chestnut brown fur, and deep dark brown mane, and green emerald eyes; and the other was a lioness with tan fur, a slender muzzle, blue eyes, and a small patch of long fur hanging a bit over her forehead. It was the Outlander prince, Kovu and his sister, Vitani.

"Hello everyone," Kovu greeted cheerfully while his sister just kept a frown on her face as she walked beside her brother.

"Kovu!" Kiara exclaimed excitedly before racing towards the young lion and nuzzling his head.

"Hey Kiara," Kovu smiled at the lioness, "Where were you this morning?"

"I was just hanging out with…" Kiara began to explain before she realized something, "Oh! I never got to introduce you to my friends." Kiara motioned him over to the two lionesses before introducing them. "Kovu, this is Zuri and Tiifu. Two of my best friends."

"It's a pleasure." Kovu greeted politely with a bow.

"The same to you prince Kovu." Tiifu said, mimicking Kove's polite bow.

"Any friend of Kiara's is a friend of ours." Zuri added in. Kiara was then about to say something, but before she could, Simba cut her off.

"I know you all probably have a lot to catch up on," the Lion King said, "But don't forget, Kiara, we have to be somewhere very soon." At first, Kiara looked at her father with a puzzled look, but then her eyes widened in realization.

"Oh no!" she groaned in frustration, "I'm so sorry. I completely forgot about today." On the side lines, her friends looked confused.

"What are you talking about?" Zuri asked, wonder what was going on.

"It's part of Kiara and Kovu's royal training." Simba explained, "We are just taking a little field trip to see Rafiki and Marifa. You are all more than welcome to join us."

"We would love to!" Zuri exclaimed in excitement. She just loved hanging out with the Kiara's parents, they all made her feel like she actually was part of the family. Unfortunately, Zuri's happy moment was cut short when Tiifu grabbed the skin on the nap of her neck with her paw and pulled her back besides her.

"Owe, owe, owe!" Zuri whined. It didn't hurt that bad, but it was always annoying when she did that to her, "What was that for?"

"Zuri," Tiifu scolded her as if she was her mother, "If we go out with them, then who's going to help lead the hunting party?"

"Oh," Zuri scratched the back of her neck and smiled sheepishly, realizing what Tiifu was telling her, "Right."

Out of the entire pride, Zuri, Kiara, and Tiifu lead the most hunts and were the most eager to volunteer. Using the lessons, taught to them by Queen Nala, they did very well for their first time as leaders. Now that Kiara and her family were going to Rafiki's tree for most of the day, they figured that it would be a good opportunity to take charge of the daily hunting party, again.

"Thank you for the offer, your majesty," Tiifu said politely, "but I think it would be appropriate if Zuri and I stay behind so that you all come home to a big dinner." Kiara and Nala smiled and shook their heads in amusement. They knew those two just wanted to look important and responsible in the Lion King's eyes. It wasn't something they did because they were stuck up or wanted any special attention, Tiifu and Zuri just wanted Simba's respect and trust.

"Are you sure girls?" Simba asked, "We could have one of the others-"

"Tut, Tut! Not another word, your majesty," before Simba could say another word, Tiifu walked up and put her paw over his muzzle, causing Simba the scrunch up his nose. "You all have been working so hard these last couple of weeks, you all deserve some time together as a family." Kiara, Nala, and Kovu snickered at the sight of Tiifu acting like she was some nanny who was looking after the Pride Lands. Whenever there was something that needed to be done, she would be there and would act as if she was the queen of this place. It was quite humorous to watch, but others didn't find it quite amusing.

"To think," Vitani grumbled in a low tone, "All our training and we still couldn't take down this pack of spineless sissies."

"Vitani!" Kovu responded gruffly, nudging her hard in the ribs. Luckily, no one heard her comment, but Kovu was still not pleased with what she said. Though his entire pride had now lived in the Pride Lands for months and Vitani took over as the new Lion Guard, she was still adjusting to being a Pridelander instead of an Outlander.

"Be polite," Kovu warned her, "These are all Kiara's friends."

"Kiara's friends," Vitani pointed out, "Not mine." That time, Simba and the others heard her and looked back to see Kovu's sister walking away from the group.

"Hey," Kiara called out gently to the gruff lioness, "Where are you going?"

"Somewhere other than here." Vitani responded, as she continued walking in the other direction.

"But, sis…" Kovu pleaded. This time Vitani turned and looked at them all. Her expression wasn't angry, but it definitely wasn't happy. It was more of a look someone would have when they were annoyed, and Vitani wore it well. Looking at Kovu, she gestured her head to Kiara and said in a calm tone, "Go on, I'm sure your girlfriend is a lot better company then me."

"But don't you want to come?" Kiara asked, "You know you're family too." Vitani just shook her head.

"Nah," she said as she waived her paw dismissively at everyone, "I got some issues of my own to work out, besides, the last thing I need is to be looked over by that psychotic monkey." She was about to walk away, but as she glanced back at Kiara's two glory hounds, a thought came to her mind which caused a small smile to crack on her muzzle.

"Besides," she continued, "Someone has to make sure we have something around here to eat, and these two need to be shown how to actually hunt for their food. -"

"Excuse me?!" Tiifu exclaimed in an appalled tone. Vitani's smile grew wider and her eyes narrowed on the two so called 'Leaders of the Hunting Party' who were now giving her death glares. Today may not be a total loss after all.

"I'm just saying," Vitani shrugged nonchalantly, "We have to have a few experienced hunters around here or else we all would probably starve."

"Oh no she didn't!" Zuri exclaimed as she cocked her head side to side in a sassy way.

"Oh no…" Kovu said under his breath. He knew what Vitani was doing. For some reason his sister always took pleasure in pressing everyone's buttons and then showing them up. She used to do it all the time in the Out Lands with Nuka. Now that he's gone, she just found 2 new people to harass and torment. This was not going to go well.

Simba, Nala, and Kiara on the other hand merely watched in amusement. They got to know Vitani while she stayed with them and Kovu did warn them of her personality, but also assured them that her teasing was never meant to offend. It was just her way of being, well, Vitani.

"Are you saying we can't hunt?" Tiifu growled.

"Your words, not mine." Both lionesses stomped on over to Vitani, who was enjoying everyone second of this.

"You can't talk to your superiors like that!" Tiifu said as she put her paw down.

"Yeah!" Zuri said backing her friend up, "That is insub… insuborma… insuboren? No…" Zuri, couldn't think of the word.

"Insubordination, genius." Vitani rolled her eyes, "and actually, it's the truth." Vitani teased, "and if you don't want to accept it, then let's make a deal: by the end of the day, if both of you have more kills then me, I'll take back what I said about you two not being good hunters, but if I win, I get to lead the hunting party next time." Without even thinking, both lionesses exclaimed: "You're on!" and darted down Pride Rock.

"Sorry to leave so soon, Kiara!" Tiifu called over her shoulder, "But we got to teach miss mane-less over there who the bosses are around here!"

"Yeah!" Zuri called out, "Her insuberdumating will not be tolerated!"

"Insubordination!" Vitani corrected again.

"Whatever!" Zuri called back, more annoyed than before.

"By girls!" Kiara called back to them, "Hope you do well!" As Kiara's two friends quickly ran through the savannah, Kovu looked back at his sister and noticed she kept her smile on her face.

"Do you really think you can get more food than they can before sun down?" he asked her.

"Honestly, who cares," Vitani shrugged, "I honestly got too much on my plate, managing the Lion Guard. I don't have time to show annoying cubs up anymore." Everyone laughed at her comment, but though all of this was quite funny, Simba had to address the group.

"I know we would all like to stay and chat some more," he stated, "but we should really be heading out now."

"Of course, your majesty." Vitani bowed her head to Simba on a mock attitude, "forgive me for taking up your family's time."

"Was that supposed to be Tifiu?" Kiara raised an eyebrow noticing how similar Vitani's tone and stature was when she said that.

"Maybe…" Vitani said with a sly smile. Not wanting to waste any more time, the royal family walked down Pride Rock and began making their way towards Rafiki's tree. Vitani watched them before turning back to head towards the Lion Guard's hideout. So much had changed over the years; a lioness leading the lion guard, outlanders living at Pride Rock, a princess betrothed to a prince, and a new apprentice to an old master. This was the Pride Lands now, but soon the young princess would learn that it wasn't always this way.

**To be Continued...  
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**And that was chapter 1! **

**I hope you all enjoyed the first new chapter! **

**From here on out, chapters will be posted weakly every Saturday morning. I was going to post this on Saturday instead of Friday but I have a film shoot going on and so I needed to move up the time table a bit. But from here on out expect weakly uploads of "Rise of Simba" on both here and Wattpad so you won't have to worry about a lack of content. **

**I hope that it was all to your liking and please leave a review to help out. It shows me that you're engaging and I want to know what you think of all this. Good or bad, agree with the reboot or not, I want to know and connect with my readers. **

**Until next week guys, This has been Rogue Lion signing off!**

**(Salutes the Readers)**


	2. Chapter 2: Starting at the Beginning

**Welcome back! I know it's a day late but so much as happened, both good and bad.  
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**As stated, week 2 gets chapter 2! I'm thankful for the follows and encouraging words I've gotten so far. I know this story has a long way to go to get back to the 20 something chapters it once had, but I'm excited about it and I want to see if you guys are excited as well.**

**I do also wish to apologize for publishing it so late. Due to the recent Virus Epidemic my college is now calling for an eviction of all students. So I've been working on packing up my dorm in order to get ready for a 12 hour drive back to my home state of Louisiana.**

**Despite things being rough I wanted to get this out to you guys. I want to stay true to my word despite situations, even national ones like this.**

**Again if anyone else is being affected by this then my heart goes out to you all. Thank you again for your patience and support. The least I can do is give you all something enjoyable to read during our quarantine time.  
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**With that being said guys, Enjoy!**

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**Ch. 2 Starting at the Beginning  
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It wasn't long until the orange morning faded and pure sunlight shined down onto the lands. Animals of all shapes and sizes could be seen wandering the grasslands, galloping across the fields, and soaring high in the cloudless sky. Among them all, Simba and his family journeyed past them, taking in the beauty of the kingdom. By now they were a good distance away from Pride Rock as they journeyed towards Rafiki's tree. Though the further they walked, the fewer animals they saw. Even the land began to change from green and ripe, to dry and barren. It made sense since Rafiki's home laid near the boarders of the Pride Lands, away from the eyes and ears of many of the residents.

Simba headed the group, following a path he had used countless times since he took up the role as Lion King. On the path they walked, pawprints of their previous journeys, and the journeys of those who came before them, were visible on ground they all treaded. Though the red maned lion was loved and respected by all the creatures, he knew that a king was only as good as the council he surrounded himself with, which would be a lesson he would give his successors today. It was at that moment that the sound of Kovu clearing his throat caught Simba's attention.

"So," the brown male spoke up, breaking the silence, "Is there a reason we're heading to the boarder?"

"Weren't you paying attention?" Kiara nudged Kovu as she walked beside him, "We planned this trip yesterday."

"Of course, I was paying attention," Kovu quickly responded before getting a sheepish look on his face, "I just don't remember what the trip was about." Realizing this, Kiara rolled her eyes and gave her one of those 'really?' looks. This prompted Kovu to respond with: "What? You looked relatively stunning that day."

"Wait, are you…" Kiara blinked in surprise before getting a shade of pink on her cheeks and narrowing her eyes at him, "Are you telling me that me being at the conversation you had with my dad distracted you?"

"Will you forgive me if I say yes?" Kovu asked which earned him a playful swat from Kiara. She wasn't really mad at him, just found his response to be corny while at the same time flattering. Nala overheard them both talking and looked back at the young adults with an amused expression on her face.

"We're going to see Rafiki, Kovu." Nala answered his previous question, "We're going to be showing you both where the histories of the Pride Lands are kept as well as check up on Rafiki's new apprentice."

"Wait a minute," Kovu replied, "I thought all the histories were kept at Pride Rock." Kiara knew what Kovu was talking about. The Lion Guard's Lair was also a place where histories and paintings were plastered all over the walls. They told many stories ranging from Simba's return, to Scar's fall, to the exile of Zira. This caused the young lion to be a bit confused, which the royal family understood.

"Yes, there are many such histories painted onto the walls of Pride Rock," answered Nala, "Though they can be changed or taken away. During Scar's reign he erased many of the histories stored within the walls in order to do away with the noble deeps of Mufasa and those who came before him. However, the true histories are kept in Rafiki's home so that they could be preserved in case of a crisis. It's for that reason that many lost paintings and stories were able to be restored after Simba returned to the throne."

"Wow. I never really thought of something like that." Kovu said, reflecting on what Nala told him.

"Yep!" Kiara added happily, "Always pays to remember where you come from!" It was certainly a unique concept, one that not many prides or animal kingdoms practiced, but that was just one of the many things that made the Pride Lands stand out among other places in Africa.

"So, I'm guessing we're going to see where he keeps it all? The histories I mean." Kovu addressed Nala.

"Correct," Nala replied, "and you'll also learn how the mejuzi keep such histories."

"Wait, wait, don't tell me. They got their own private cave to store them all?" Kovu asked again with a witty grin.

"Actually," Simba addressed the group as he suddenly stopped on a small hill and pointed outwards with his paw, "He keeps them in there."

The group looked towards where Simba pointed and out in the distance they saw Rafiki's home. It was a massive Baobab tree, towering tall with branches outstretched and reaching to the sky like arms reaching towards heaven. Everyone just stood there and admired the grand home. Kovu had never seen such a massive tree in his entire life. Kiara had seen it before when she was young, but would only travel near it when being taught a royal lesson or when she hung out with Rafiki's old apprentice: Makini. Both Simba and Nala had journeyed to the tree several times, both during their cub years as well as when they became king and queen. Now here they were, all grown up and ready to teach the next generation.

"Wow!" Kovu exclaimed excitedly as he gazed up at the tree. Simba couldn't help but smile as he looked at Kovu's energetic expression. It was like looking at an overgrown cub who had just learned about the Great Kings of the Past. Kovu quickly walked up to the tree, marveled by its size and majesty before saying: "It's so huge!". Suddenly his comment was met with a laugh and a response from up in the branches.

"Wait until you see the inside!"

Everyone looked up to see a young mandrill sitting on one of the many outstretched branches. Kovu squinted as he made out the features of the monkey, having blue stripped cheeks, red running across his forehead and down his nose, and yellow rings around his eyes. It was clear that he was much younger than Rafiki, seeing as how he was smaller, spoke in a different accent, and had small patches of a black mane growing around his chest. It was obvious to the group that this was Rafiki's young apprentice: Marifa.

"Hello Marifa," Simba greeted, "Is Rafiki home?"

"Of course! When is he ever not these days?" the apprentice replied, "but what are you doing standing out there? Come on in and make yourselves comfortable."

"That's a joke, right?" Kovu asked as he raised an eyebrow, "Do you expect us to climb up? We're not leopards you know."

"Oh, I knew I forgot something," Marifa said jokingly while he slapped himself, "how silly of me. I forgot to unlock the door."

Suddenly, Marifa leaped from his branch and began to freefall. Everyone, except for Simba, gasped; thinking that Marifa was going to crash. But before he hit the ground, Marifa grabbed on to a nearby vine that was hanging down from the tree. The young baboon slid down the vine with both speed and grace. When he got to the bottom and planted his feet firmly on the ground, he gave a quick tug on the vine. Then something clicked inside the tree, and a section of it opened, revealing a secret passage way inside. Marrifa then gave a polite bow, motioned to the entrance and said: "After you." Simba and his family cheered at Marifa's performance, enjoying the dramatic greeting.

"Pffft! I knew he was going to do that." Kove said while rolling his eyes.

"Of course, you did, dear." Kiara chided, in a rather sarcastic tone, "Will you forgive me if I don't buy it?" Using her boyfriend's choice of words from before earned her a disgruntle, yet playful, growl from Kovu.

One by one, the lions entered into the narrow passageway that spiraled upwards to the center of the tree. As they got to the top, everyone gazed in awe at the room they were in. All around the tree walls, there were pictures of animals, ranging from: zebras, to kudu, elephants, buffalo, wilder-beast, and of course, lions. As Simba and his family gazed upon the endless wave of pictures, Marifa came walking in carrying his own staff, which had feathers tide on the tip instead of fruit.

"Welcome everyone!" he announced, "To the Pride Land's Hall of History!"

"Oh Marrifa," Nala gasped, "This place… it's amazing!"

"It's beautiful!" Kiara said.

"Eh," Kovu shrugged, less than impressed, "it's nice, but if you ask me, the monkey has too much time on his hands."

"Now come along! Don't dawdle!" Marifa motioned, leading the group further through the tree, "Master Rafiki is waiting for us." The group walked down the halls, looking and admiring many paintings and the stories they told. The first council of King Yandu the Just, Queen Bella's conquest during the War of the Roars, The Exodus of King Mohatu, all of these amazing moments in the Pride Land's history could be seen on the walls of the tree. Though while the prince and princess looked around, Simba talked with young Marifa.

"Well, my friend, what has Rafiki been up to lately?"

"He has been very busy," Marifa replied, "he has been working on his latest drawing for the History Wall of Kion and journey to becoming King of the Night Pride. It is almost complete, but as you know, these things take time."

"Yes… Time." Simba repeated as he suddenly stopped in his tracks. A certain wall had caught his attention. It was of a golden lion with a red mane and a faint stain of pink paint across the top of its forehead. This was a picture of himself.

"Well, hello handsome." he said jokingly as he put up a paw next to the painting. Though he had a smile on his face, his expression had somewhat of a sad undertone to it as he gazed at what would be his section of the tree, "Come a long ways from that oasis, haven't we?" Simba's stopping at the certain spot in the wall caused the rest of his family to notice and approach him. Marifa followed them as well, willing to entertain the royal family a bit long as they took their time in enjoying the tree. Little did he know that they were about to uncover something that even he did not know about.

"Wow Dad," Kiara said as she walked up next to her father, "is that you?"

"Yes ma'am." Marifa answered her question as he pointed up with his staff, "This wall here is the history of your father, King Simba." Upon looking a the section, Kovu couldn't help but notice how there were other pictures around Simba's but none of them seemed to really be related to the lion king himself.

"So… where is the rest of his story?" Kovu asked in confusion.

"Ah! Don't worry, it's all there. It just needs a mejuzi to tell it." Marifa stated, which confused Kovu even more.

"Sorry but I'm not following you, monkey boy."

"Observe." Marifa then took his staff and tapped a nearby painting of another king of another lifetimes. Suddenly all the other pictures surrounding the painting began to spread out and away from the one Marifa touched, making room as new paintings of the king's life suddenly appeared. Rafiki used to do this all the time back at Pride Rock for the Lion Guard paintings, but never did art move out of the way so that other art could appear.

"You see young master; this is something we like to call: Mejuzi Storage." Marifa attempted explained, "Paintings and telling of a lion's past can take up a lot of space. So, every art that is made gets stored into a section of the tree and marked by the picture of the ruler. If there is ever a time a mejuzi needs to look at a section, they unlock it with their staff and all the other paintings magically move out of the way so that the chosen history can be portrayed and told."

"So, every painting done of my dad is put in his section of the tree? How?" Kiara asked, being baffled as well by this new piece of information.

"Well your majesty," Marifa said with a shrug as he lifted his staff and all the past paintings faded and all the other paintings returned to their normal spots, "The best explanation I can give is magic! Like Rafiki once told me: if you keep looking for impossible answers then you'll only wind up with more questions."

Those were certainly wise words of advice and ones that Kiara and Kovu understood from a certain point of view. Though this was all incredibly neat, Simba knew that he couldn't prolong this any longer. Upon seeing that Marifa could make the paintings come to life, he knew that it was best to begin as soon as possible.

"This is what we will be looking at today." Simba told them as he pointed at his own picture, "It's time you see what my rule as king was like. Today you will be witnessing boy my successes, as well as my failures." Nala came up beside him and gave an encouraging look. They both knew what was about to happen, what they were about to show. All morning this had been weighing on Simba's mind. Ever since he became the Lion King, Simba had learned to put on a smile to assure both his subjects as well as his friends and family that everything was ok, even when they were not. Now at this moment, it was time that they tell their story to the next generation, the whole story.

"Marifa," Nala addressed the apprentice, "Could you please open Simba's part on the history wall?"

"Right now?" the apprentice asked in surprise as he gestured with his hands, "But Master Rafiki isn't here yet. Wouldn't it be better to wait?"

"No," Simba shook his head as he spoke in a quiet voice, "I think we've waited long enough." Looking once more at his daughter, he hoped that he didn't mess this up. despite his care free life in his early years there had been so much that he had messed up on. His decisions with Kovu, believing his uncle when he was younger, but nothing greater than when he first became king. He only wished that his daughter would understand why she never learned about it until now.

Shrugging, Marifa went to Simba's painting and tapped it with his staff. As the paintings began to shift and move, Kovu and Kiara began to whisper to one another.

"So where do you think the story will start?" Kovu asked.

"My presentation. Duh," Kiara replied, "Dad and mom would brag about it all the time when I was growing up. They said I was the mark of a new beginning."

"You sure? I bet it'll start with an epic clash between Simba and Zira."

"No way! I came first, then Zira and Dad started-"

Suddenly they stopped as Simba's history appeared. Both looked up to see in the beginning that Simba was on top of Pride Rock, roaring in the rain after dethroning Scar. Yet as they continued on, they noticed weird things in the paintings. The paintings adjusted, showing Rafiki presenting the Pride Lands with a cub, but it wasn't Kiara."

"What… is this?" Kiara asked in a hushed whisper as she looked intently at the picture. The cub in question was golden like she was but it had a mane on top of his head, like Kion from his pictures. However, this wasn't her younger brother, for the mane looked different and was a more faded red, almost brown in color. All Kiara could do was stare in confusion while Simba and Nala just looked up at the young cub being presented.

"Oh Simba," Nala said sadly as she leaned her head on his neck, tears pricking her eyes, "It feels like it was a lifetime ago."

"My King! I'm so sorry! I don't know what happened!" the apprentice bowed his head in respect and began apologizing. He too did not know what took place during those times and he felt like he made a mistake that saddened the queen, "This has never happened to me before. There must be something wrong with this stupid staff of mine. Must be mixing up the histories."

"Calm yourself Marifa." The lions and the young apprentice looked back to see Rafiki enter the room and approach them while using his staff as a walking stick, "You did nothing wrong."

"B-But Rafiki," Marifa stuttered as his master past him and approached Simba's wall, "That couldn't be true! This isn't Kiara? Who is this?"

"Simple," the old mandrill replied as he tapped the painting once more with his stick, causing it to move again, "It's not Kiara." This of course caused both Marifa and Kovu to look at the old mejuzi with deadpanned expressions.

"You don't say, mon-kay," Kovu replied, pronouncing Rafiki's species in a sarcastic tone, "That still doesn't exactly tell us who this is."

There was complete silence throughout the room. All eyes were fixed upon the wall, especially the younger of the group. They knew it was Rafiki's job to maintain and keep the histories of the Pride Lands; that included furnishing and maintaining them, and yet this section in particular held a piece of history that none of them except the rulers and Rafiki know about.

"Uncle?" Marifa pressed as he pointed at the cub who was presented, "Who is this lion?" A tear rolled down the old mandrill's face, as he slowly approached the wall and placed his hand nest to the painting of the cub.

"That is not for me to share I'm afraid. Not just yet." Rafiki gestured over to Simba and Nala who were both looking at their daughter with soft eyes. This just made the golden lioness even more concerned.

"Dad?" She asked hesitantly, not sure what to expect. Simba took a deep breath and exhaled as he came over to her and put a paw on her shoulder while looking back and forth between her and the picture.

"Kiara," He slowly began, "do you know why I made Timon and Pumbaa follow you wherever you went when you were a cub?"

Kiara thought for a second before answering: "No, not really. I just thought you were trying to be a good parent."

"Well… that was part of the reason." Was Simba's slow reply before turning to Kovu to ask him next, "Did Zira ever tell you about what happened right after I came back and defeated Scar?"

"Of course," Kovu responded, surprised by such an obvious fact that nearly everyone knew, "She said you banished her and her followers because they were still loyal to Scar."

"True, but she did not have followers to begin with and she had different motives at the time."

Kiara and Kovu's attention were locked onto Simba, wondering what point he was trying to get at. The Lion King then gazed back at the picture and stared at it for some time. Though he smiled as he looked at the picture, his slump posture showed that he was struggling on the inside; as if he was carrying a heavy burden. In his mind, Simba tried to find the right words for what he had to say. It was very important that he explained exactly what was happening.

After a moment of silence, he explained: "That name of the cub is Kopa." He glanced back at Kiara and Kovu as he continued, "There were many things that happened early on in my reign that haven't been talked about by anyone. This cub was one of them."

"Kopa?" Kiara was Kiara's immediate question. Simba would nod as he looked at the painting of the cub being presented then back at her daughter's amber eyes. He couldn't hold this from her any longer.

"Yes Kiara. He," Simba stuttered, trying to find the best way to put it gently to her, "He was… Kiara… he was your older brother."

_Her brother._

Those words seemed to echo in the minds of everyone in the tree. Kiara's eyes widened, Kovu's jaw went slack, and Marifa dropped his staff in shock. No one was expecting what was just revealed to them.

"I… I have older brother?" Kiara gasped, still trying to take it all in. She looked at her father, both confused and hurt, "Why? How? I never had an older sibling!" Simba watched as her daughter shook her head in disbelief. It was a difficult truth but one that she needed to know.

"Sweetie," Nala walked up next to her daughter, trying to comfort her, "please understand, there was so much going on at that time. So much of that time in our rule we couldn't afford to share with you or Kion. We only wanted what was best for you, we didn't…"

"What?!" Kiara agitate asked while backing away from her, "how is not telling me I had an older sibling considered looking out for me?!" Kovu stepped aside, knowing how Kiara got when she was frustrated, and right now he could tell she was about to blow her top off. Simba, however, stepped in and tried to explain this to her the best he could.

"Kiara," Simba said softly as he gently placed his paw on her shoulder; which caused her to look back at him with a glare that would make even a rhino nervous, "Please, just listen. Yes, we kept your brother a secret, but you have to trust us. There was a reason for it." He then looked at Kiara with pleading eyes, hoping that his daughter would understand what he was trying to do. "You see Kiara, your mother and I, we did many things during the beginning of our rule. Those decisions have both allowed us to grow but they have also left scars on our lives, scars that we did not wish to expose you to. The fate of many friends and family were some of those scars. When you came along, we wanted you to experience the childhood that we never had the pleasure to have. We didn't want you going through life having the burden of never knowing family and friends who cared about you. And it wasn't just us Kiara. Timon, Pumbaa, Zazu, the entire pride didn't want to see you nor Kion sad and afraid of the past. I'm… I'm sorry that you are just learning about him now."

Kiara turned away from Simba, unable to look her father in the face. She was furious at him for keeping her in the dark; but, in her heart, she realized why he did what he did. She thought about what her father and mother did. She knew that this must have been hard for not just her parents, but for her entire pride as well. They took it upon themselves to carry the burden of no longer having a friend, no, their family around with them; a feeling that they shielded her from ever having.

Thinking about that, made her think back to the day Kion told her that he and the Lion Guard would be living in the Night Pride from now on. Though she was happy for them, it broke her heart to see her brother go off. She grimaced as she imagined how she would have reacted as I child if she learned that her older brother had not been there for her. Knowing that her father was probably feeling terrible at this point, Kiara raised her head and looked at him straight in the eyes. Simba expected a hateful glare from Kiara, but to his surprise, her eyes were not full of hate… but forgiveness.

"Dad," she choked, trying to find the words, "I understand." Everyone was surprised by Kiara's answer, especially Simba. He was about to say something, but Kiara continued, "You and Mom were just trying to look after me, like you always have. I'm sorry I-"

"No," Simba interrupted gently, "I'm sorry. I should have told you about Kopa a long time ago. It would have probably prevented all this confusion you're experiencing." Having said that, Simba put his paw on Kiara's shoulder and pulled her in close to his chest. Knowing that her father was sorry, Kiara did the same and hugged him back.

"I love you Kiara," the Lion King said with as much love as a father could give, "Don't you ever forget that." Everyone else just sat around watching this touching moment between Simba and his daughter. Nala and Rafiki smiled, relieved that Kiara was taking this well. Marifa was also happy, but touching moments always made him cry for some reason. As he sniffed and tried to wipe the tears from his eyes.

"Um, Dad?" Simba lifted his head and looked at Kiara, who was now smiling gently at him. "I know this might be a sensitive subject, but what exactly happened to Kopa?" Before Simba even had a chance to answer, Rafiki stepped in.

"What happened?" He exclaimed with glee, "Everything good and wonderful! That's what!"

"What do you mean?" Kovu asked. Rafiki then motioned to everyone to come in close to him.

"In all my years there have been very few I've seen touched by your father and cubs that he's had with Nala. That includes you, Kion, and even Kopa. His story is intertwined with your father's. For as a prince took the throne as king, a new life entered the world as a prince." As Rafiki talked, everyone gathered around the section as Rafiki tapped the tree and the pictures began to move. They appeared to be going backwards from the presentation to a picture of Simba waiting outside the den with anxious looks on their faces. All the while the old mejuzi began to tell the tale of Simba and his coming of age as the lion king.

"Like any good story it is best to start at the beginning." Rafiki stated as the pictures began to move as he spoke, "Not long after the return of Simba and the defeat of Scar, the Pride Lands began to once again began to show signs of life. Grass and water began to return as well as many herds who had received word of Scar's passing and Simba's ascension. A few months pass and Nala began to show signs of pregnancy and it wasn't long until a new member was added to the Pride Lands. It was on this day that the Pride Lands would change forever. This my friends, is the beginning of Simba's Reign."

**To Be continued…**

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**And that my friends is chapter 2!**

**Fun fact: in the first draft when I was writing this story, cub Kion was going to be joining the family. That was back before the Lion Guard was actually a thing. Gosh I feel old now. Lol.**

**For those of you who are actually taking the time to read the author notes, thank you again so much for reading my new chapter. This reboot already has over 200 views. Amazing! If we can get this story up to 20 followers and 20 reviews before the next chapter comes out next week then that would be a great goal to reach! **

**Again, sorry that this is coming out a day late. I'll try to do better. In the meantime guys, this is Rogue Lion signing off.**

**(Salutes Audience)**

**PS, I updated my pfp on this site. I got it from an artist for my birthday and I think it looks epic but it would be cool to know your thoughts as well.**


	3. Chapter 3: The New Addition

**Hello everyone and welcome to chapter 3!**

**I hope everyone is doing ok, despite the Chines Corona Virus going around. Thankfully none of my family or I have caught the thing yet and I hope it stays that way.**

**In the meantime, I hope this chapter will help keep you all entertained during this quarantine time. Gosh I love doing these. They bring back such nastalgia!**

**With that being said guys, enjoy!**

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**_Chapter 3. The New Addition_**

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**(Months after Simba's return to Pride Rock...)**

"Ooowwww…."

"Nala? Are you ok?"

"Yes Simba, but… ooo… this may be a while."

It was early in the morning, and Simba, along with his two pals Timon the meerkat and Pumbaa the warthog, paced back and forth at the entrance of the cave, anxiously waiting for Nala and the baby. It was amazing that just a few months ago, Simba was out in an oasis without a care in the world, and now he was back in his old home. He was now a king, a husband, and soon, he'd become a father.

As they waited, Rafiki suddenly came out of the cave, carrying his walking stick. Upon seeing the old mandrill, Simba quickly rushed over to him and frantically asked: "How is she?! Is she ok?! Is the baby ok?! When…"

"Calm down your highness," Rafiki laughed, finding it amusing how the new king used to be so care free but now frantic like a concerned parent, "De pregnancy is going well. Your queen is doing just fine."

"Are you sure?" Simba's question was met with a hard smack on the head from Rafiki's staff, "Owe! Geeze! What was that for?"

"For not using your coconut!" Rafiki stated with a frown, "I've been doing this for many years, my friend. I was there for you father, and I was there for you. So long as I am buy your mate's side, you have nothing to fear." This statement caught the attention of Timon.

"Oh yeah, wise guy?" the meerkat said with crossed arms, "Well if you're out here, who's back in there with Nala?"

"OOOOHHHHHHHHH!"

Everyone cringed at the sound of Nala's sudden roar of pain. In an instant, Rafiki dashed back into the den to assist the lioness in labor, once again leaving the other men outside the den.

"Yeesh!" Timon groaned as he cleared his right ear with his finger, "She's screaming like she just got stepped on by an elephant."

"Timon!" Simba growled, picturing in his mind what Timon said about Nala, "You're not helping!"

"Whaaaat, I was only kidding. Geeze, lighten up pal." Timon didn't really understand what the problem with Simba was. Ever since they got here, their best lion buddy just hadn't been acting like himself. It was like he was hitting puberty all over again.

"I can't Timon," Simba shook his head, "How can I… I mean… I'm about to become a father."

"We know what you're going through Simba," said Pumbaa, trying to cheer up his stressed friend.

"Yeah," Timon chimed in, "You think it was easy for us when you came into our lives?"

"Gaargh! You guys just don't get it!" Simba then went back to his frantic back and forth pacing. All his life he had lived without a single care in the world, and now he was not only in charge of a kingdom but a new child as well. This wasn't something that he was used to nor familiar with. In fact all he could do was stress out about this situation.

Timon and Pumbaa just looked at their distressed friend, wondering what they could do to cheer him up. They missed their fun going lion that used to smile every day. That's when Timon had an idea. Simba just needed a little reminder of what their old motto meant. Gingerly, Timon started to lightly tap his foot on the ground and began to hum: "hm hmmm hm hm hmmm hm… what a wonderful phrase…" Pumbaa caught on to what Timon was doing and began to join in quietly.

"Hakuna Mahatata, ain't no passin' craze." Soon the two were singing their old song and hoped that their old pal would join in. Simba noticed them and raised an eyebrow at them.

"Come on pal! You know the lines!" Timon called out to Simba as he and Pumbaa continued to sing.

"It means no worries, for the rest of your days!"

Simba had to admit, although he felt like his entire body was shaking from the anticipation of becoming a father; that old song started to lighten his mood. Soon he started tapping his paws to the rhythm, and it wasn't long until he felt his body start to relax as he sang beside them.

"It's our problem freeeeeeee, philosophyyyyyy, Hakuna Mahatata!"

Simba felt a great deal of pressure come off of his shoulders as he sang. They would continue on for several minuets until suddenly there was another cry from the den, but it was more high pitch than before.

"Whoa! What was that?" Timon asked abruptly.

"I believe that was a E flat above a high C," Pumbaa commented on the pitch of the cry. This caused Timon to face palm himself while Simba looked on in wonder. That was the cry of a child. Moments later, Rafiki appeared at the entrance of the cave with a large smile plastered all over his face.

Simba took a deep breath and exhaled before calmly walking over towards Rafiki and asked him: "Nala, how is she?" Rafiki then pointed to the entrance of the cave with his staff.

"Go on in, your highness," Rafiki said proudly, "Your queen and son would very much like to see you." A smile grew on Simba's face when he heard those words.

"A son? I'm… I'm a father!" He quickly ran into the den with his head held high and with a newfound sense of pride. He was a father! A father! Little did Simba realize that there was a sound of paws in the distance heading towards Pride Rock in a hurry.

"Hey! Wait up Simba!" Pumbaa called out as he ran after him, while Timon rode on his back

"Slow down pal!" Timon shouted, "You're acting like you're about to be run over by a stampede." No sooner the meerkat said that, there was a rumble in the cave that caused everyone to stop. Timon's gaze instantly went to Pumbaa.

"Pumbaa! I thought I told you to eat before we left!"

"It's not me Timon." The three then looked back to see what was making that rumbling sound. A chill ran down their spines as the saw a pack of nearly twenty lionesses charging right at them.

"Hit the dirt!" Timon shouted as he ducked behind Pumbaa. Before Simba could even react, he and his friends were caught in a stampede of lionesses running over them and making a large dust cloud in the den. When they were gone and the dust began to clear, Simba and his friends were lying on the ground, bruised and battered from being caught in the middle of the stampede. Simba stood up and shook himself off, trying to process what just happened.

"Ohhhh… what happened," Pumbaa groaned as he got up off the ground.

"I'll tell you what happened!" Timon snapped as he brushed himself off, "some wise-guy leaked word that there was going to be a new cub in the Pride Lands. Look!"

The three looked up to see the crowed of lionesses gathered around Nala, trying to get the first look at the new born cub. Simba and his palls walked up to the group and saw that it stretched on for a lion or two. Nala was nowhere to be seen in the crowd.

"Oh no, nononono!" Timon shook his head, "I did not get up at 4 in the morning to witniss my best buddy's kid be born and get met with a face full of lion tail!" the meerkat stormed over to the group before tugging on the nearest lion tail and demanded: "Hey! We were here first you psycho cats! Move your fat keesters over or I'm gonna-"

Before he could continue, a lioness turned back and snarled in his face. Seeing the many teeth the lioness had, Timon put his hand up defensively and said in a nervous tone: "I'm... gonna let you go back to what you were doing. That's what I meant, heheh..." letting out a huff, the lioness then turned back and joined the others in trying to see the newborn cub. Clearly pushing their way through wasn't going to work, so Simba tried diplomacy. Clearing his throat, the Lion King approached the crowd.

"Um, excuse me ladies," Simba said politely, "I would very much like to see my…" It was no use. Simba's words were drowned out by all the lionesses who were pushing and shoving to just get a glimpse of the new prince.

"Awwwww! Come on Nala, I wanna see!"

"I bet he looks just like his father."

"Oh Nala, please let me peek! I bet he's adorable!"

"Hey! Move it sister! I was here first!"

It was clear that none of them were moving until they saw the new prince. Not even their king addressing them seemed to get their attention. Suddenly, Pumbaa got an idea.

"Don't worry fellas," he said triumphantly, "I'll get us through to Nala!" The warthog then raised his tail in the air and started to slowly back up towards the lionesses. Upon seeing this, Simba and Timon quickly began to panic and made and effort to stop him.

"Whoa! Whoa! Hold your fire Mr. Pig!" Timon exclaimed as he franticly flailed his arms about. Luckily, Pumbaa heard him and stopped before he could do whatever he was about to do. That's when Timon began to explain: "Look pall, I want to get to Nala just as much as you do, but what did I tell you about 'Operation Gas Bomb?'" Pumbaa thought for a second before realizing what Timon meant. Bowing his head glumly, he replied: "Use only in life threatening situations and never against women and children?"

"Exactly," Timon said, "And right now, that's all that is here! Not to mention you'd probably hit Nala and Simba Jr. in the process."

"Simba Jr.?" Simba asked as he raised an eyebrow at his friends when he heard the name.

"What?" Timon replied innocently, "It was better than the name Pumbaa picked out for him." Pumbaa frowned when he heard that.

"What's wrong with Grubs?" the warthog asked, causing Simba to laugh at this statement. Even in times like these, his friends always seemed to lighten the mood.

Though Nala was being crowded by her fellow lionesses, she could hear the commotion that Simba, Timon and Pumba were making in order to get to her. She did her best to keep the newborn sheltered from the incoming crowd but it looked like it would take a moment for the crowd to calm down.

"Sorry honey," Nala said as she tried to see her husband through the thick crowed, "you might have to wait a little longer." Simba went from laughing to feeling like he was about to cry. All morning he had been waiting for this moment, and now that his new son was here, he had to wait a little longer?! All of a sudden, there was a sharp whistle that echoed throughout the entire cave; causing everyone to stop what they were doing and look back to see who it was. An old lioness with light brown fur, and dark rings under her brown eyes, came walking out from a dark corner of the cave and went straight towards the crowed.

"Move aside ladies," Sarabi stated proudly, marching towards the group with her head held high, "proud grandmother coming through." Almost automatically, the other lionesses moved out of her way; creating a straight path towards Nala. Simba lightly chuckled to himself as he followed closely behind his mother. When they finally got to Nala, Sarabi turned back to Simba and told him: "And that, my son, is how you get through a crowed of cub crazed lionesses."

Simba shook his head in amusement at his mother's words. Ever since his return she had rarely been far away from him. They both had spent years away from one another, one being a son full of shame and the other being a mother who thought she failed her family. To be reunited after so many years was an indescribable moment for both of them. Not only was a broken family made whole once again, but now a new generation of royals would come to the Pride Lands through the line of Mufasa.

As mother and son approached Nala, they both greeted the queen with a nuzzle. She looked tired and a bit dirty, but she had the biggest smile on her face.

"Where is he?" Simba asked eagerly. Nala just stayed quiet and looked down as Simba followed her gaze. Nestled in between her paws was the newborn, though to Simba, it looked like a small golden ball of fur. Nala gently licked the cub causing it to turn over on its side, showing everyone his face. Everyone awed as the sleeping cub yawned in his mother's paws and snuggled himself into her fur.

"Nala…" Simba gasped, lost for words at this touching moment, "Nala he's beautiful." he then bent down slowly to get a better look at his son. The cub had inherited his golden fur, while at the same time inheriting Nala's tan muzzle and underbelly. This was their son. Their son… it took a bit for the thought to sink into Simba's head. Part of him still couldn't believe that this small bundle of fur was actually a cub. In reality, this was the first time he had ever seen a newborn.

"He's so small," he said as he laid down next to Nala and nuzzled her head.

"I remember a time when you were that small, my son," Sarabi chuckled, causing Simba to blush.

"Mooom, cut it out," Simba responded, acting like he was whining cutely. Everyone laughed at Simba's remark. The old, retired queen enjoyed talking about the time's when Simba was a cub, it always lifted her spirit. And now, she would be able to relive all those moments with her new grandson. The mere though of it made Sarabi's heart flutter.

After the remark, Sarabi asked them both: "So, does he have a name yet"? Nala smiled back at her mother in-law and told her: "We have been going through a long list of names, and I think we know the perfect one for our little boy." As Nala was talking, the cub started to open his eyes and look at the world around him. When he saw Simba's face, he smiled and reached out with his small paws towards him. Somehow, he instantly knew who his father was. Simba saw that his son had just woken up and was now looking at him intently with wide aqua blue eyes; another trait he got from his mother. Simba then lowered his head next to the infant cub and gently nuzzled his small body before announcing his name.

"My pride, my joy, my heart… Kopa."

The others in the pride gathered around and admired the new addition to their pride. Prince Kopa, son of Simba and Nala, grandson of Mufasa and heir to Pride Rock. This touched everyone deeply, especially two certain new uncles in the room.

"Whaaaaaaahaha! Whaaaah!" everyone looked back to see Timon and Pumbaa bawling hysterically, "T-That's so beautifu-u-l!" Timon cried.

"Our little Simba's all grown up!" Pumbaa sobbed as he hugged Timon, "And now… we got a nephew! Timon I'm so happy!" Everyone busted out laughing at the hilarious act that Timon and Pumbaa were putting on. With all the happy laughter, no one noticed as a blue hornbill suddenly flew into the cave until it landed in front of the royal family. It was the Major Domo, Zazu, and he appeared to be in high spirits.

"Greetings everyone!" Zazu bowed before the pride, "I trust the new addition is in good health?"

"See for yourself," Nala answered with a smile as Kopa was busy patting Simba's muzzle with his paws.

"Wonderful!" Zazu exclaimed with glee as he clasped his wings together, "The returning subjects will be in such high spirits to see the new addition!"

"Wait," Simba blinked as he looked away from Kopa and back at Zazu, "Returning subjects?"

"Indeed," Zazu nodded, "Word spreads fast you know. Herds from all around, new and old, are traveling with great haste to see the new Lion King of these lands, sire. Having a heir so soon will be a good sign of things to come!" Though the bird looked thrilled, Simba was taking what Zazu told him with a grain of salt.

"But, the lands aren't fully restored yet." He told Zazu, "The waterholes barely have anything left, not to mention we're practically been living on bugs at the moment."

"And what's wrong with that?" Timon put his hands on his hips when he heard this, "I for one approved of the Pride's new diet. Keeps the lions eating and us living. Heheh." Nala rolled her eyes when she heard the meerkat's statement. She wasn't all too thrilled with the diet the pride had to use in order to live, but it did keep Simba alive when he was growing up and it actually kept them all alive for the most part. Still, she would take a buffalo carcass over a mound of termites any day of the week.

"I think what Simba is trying to say," she told Zazu, "Is that we're not exactly ready to accept back members into the Pride Lands. Why is everyone returning so soon?"

"Opportunity!" Zazu exclaimed, "With a new king comes a chance for change. Old herds are coming back to support the heir to Mufasa, while others are curious as to what kind of rule Simba will bring. Not to mention many wish to help restore the Pride to its greener days before Scar took over." Nala looked up at Simba and in turn he looked back at her. In a way it made sense that old subjects would come and help the restoration of their homeland, but so soon? To them it felt a bit sudden.

"I'll be getting everything together for the prince's presentation," Zazu replied as he spread his wings, "Tata!" having said that, the hornbill took flight and proceeded to head out towards the savanna to start organizing the groups that would begin to show up.

Simba would stand up and look down at his son. He couldn't help but wonder if his father felt this way when he was born. Was he nervous? Second guessing himself? It wasn't but a few months ago that he overthrew his uncle. He didn't know if he was ready to lead his pride, let alone a kingdom. He looked tense, and his family saw it.

"Don't worry my son," Sarabi comforted him as she nuzzled his neck gently.

"How can I not?" Simba replied as he looked down at the ground, "I haven't exactly been raised to run a kingdom."

"That's why we're here." his mother assured him, "You don't have to do this alone. We'll help you. You just have to let us." Simba heard her words and looked at his mother before looking back down at his son who had since went to try and play with his mother. He wasn't living a carefree life in the jungles anymore like some bum. He was a king now, a father, and it was time he stepped into that role. Looking at the rest of his pride, he took a deep breath before giving his first real speech as the new Lion King.

"I know that things have not been easy around here for quite some time, but now is not the time to think about the past. It is time to build, to dream, and to look to a brighter future. The Pride Lands are starting to slowly come back to life and the herds are starting to return. In light of this wondrous occasion, let us present my son, Kopa as the new prince of the Pride Lands. Now lets look towards the future with hope as we celebrate this joyous moment!" Everyone cheered at the king's words for they knew what he said was true. Now was a time to be happy and celebrate; but not everyone was excited about this change.

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While everyone cheered and admired the new prince; right outside the boarders of the Pride Lands, in a small stone den, a scheme was being hatched. In the middle of the den laid a shadowy figure of a lion. The only thing that could be seen were the many scars that covered his body as well as his bright green eyes, which shined like emeralds in the darkness. He merely stared out into the darkness of the cave, thinking, planning, wondering how things could have possibly gotten this far out of hand.

Suddenly, another lion entered the den, causing the shadowy lion to turn to see who had entered. Before him, in the daylight of the cave entrance, stood a grey fur lion with a dark grey mane and red eyes.

"Your highness," The grey lion addressed the figure in the dark, "I bring news from the Pride Lands."

"What is it?" The shadowy lion replied coldly.

"The animals are returning. It would appear that the land has had a recent flood of animals as of late."

"So soon?" the shadowy lion replied, with no hint of emotion in his voice. "There is barely any green in the Pride Lands. Despite the return of Mufasa's heir, what would drive them to return to their shell of a home so soon?"

"It…" The grey lion began, hesitant to telling the lion the true reason for the herd's return, "It would appear that there is a presentation being held at Pride Rock."

"Presentation?" the shadowy lion growled, "What presentation?" the grey lion gritted his teeth, knowing exactly how his master would react upon hearing the news.

"It would appear as though... King Simba... had a cub." Instantly an angry roar filled the cave as the lion swiped his paws across the cave walls, sending sparks flying in the darkness, revealing for a moment a singular scar that ran down the shadowy lion's left eye.

**To be continued...**

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**And thus another chapter completed! Our little non canon prince has finally entered the scene! What fate will befall him? How will Simba handle the sudden influx of animals? What about this mysterious new lion? Come back next week to find out where the story goes!**

**In the meantime guys, I hope you all have a blessed day, and until next time this has been Rogue Lion, signing off!**

**(Salutes audience)**

**P.S. I'm thinking about starting a YouTube channel. So... yeah! stay tune for that as well and if you know any good editing software let me know. I got to convince someone to help me out. **


	4. Chapter 4: Laughter for Revenge

**Hello there everyone! I know it's been way too long since I uploaded anything. During the Covid 19 break out I lost my password information for my account and I couldn't sign back in or update anything which has been really rough. But just recently I have gotten it back thanks to a student who found my information in my dorm room.**

**So much has happened and I want to share it with you all but I'll save it for the end of the story for those who are interested. As for the rest of you who are eager for the next chapter, thank you for your patience and I hope it is worth the wait. **

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_**Chapter 4 Laughter For Revenge**_

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A few weeks had passed since the presentation and Simba found the moments he spent with his family to be absolutely marvelous. Never did he imagine fatherhood bringing so much joy into one's life. His son quickly learned how to crawl, and it wasn't long until he started to explore the world around him, which caused Nala, Timon, and Pumbaa to constantly be on their toes. Sarabi and Zazu also found a certain happiness come into their lives when Kopa was born. The cub had brought back such precious memories of when Simba was but an infant, and now Sarabi had the chance to experience such events for a second time in her life. Between Simba's return and Kopa's birth, it seemed as though things were really looking up for the Pride Lands, but very soon, there would be another unexpected addition to the family.

Today, Simba, wanted to thank the animal leaders who lead their respected herds to the Pride Lands for Kopa's ceremony. So, he set up a meeting at the waterhole with the leaders of the elephants, hippos, and crocodiles. Though not many species had returned, he hoped these groups coming back would encourage other animals, both new and old, to start journeying to the slowly reviving Pride Lands. Along with him was his wife and son, as well as Sarabi, Timon, and Pumbaa. They all needed to get out of the stuffy Pride Rock for a bit. Simba and Sarabi could deal with the politics while Nala, Timon, and Pumbaa could play with Simba by the water.

"Thank you once again, my friends." Simba bowed his head at the three leaders, "Without your aid, I doubt the herds would even consider coming back so soon."

"Oh, pish posh!" the old elephant replied, waving his trunk dismissively to the idea that they were the ones responsible, "We merely reminded everyone that the Pride Lands were now, oh how does that saying go, under new management. In all honesty sire, it is we who should be thanking you."

"Me?" Simba asked, being taken back by the sudden gesture.

"Yes." The crocodile spoke up in a deep voice, "It was here that my float had lived for 8 generations. I myself became good friends with your father, back during his reign. Then your Uncle came in and destroyed what was considered the crown jewel of the entire savannah."

"Each of us remember growing up here during our youth under Mufasa," added the hippo, "When your uncle came, we all had to travel and move on to avoid being overhunted by the hyenas. We found other lands, but they never felt like home."

"Ah yes," the elephant mused as Simba and Sarabi listened to them, "even when traveling with my pack, my mind would drift back to the days of my youth in the Pride Lands and I would always remember Mufasa, and a certain cub who would always follow him around and who always seemed eager to listen to what he had to say. I knew that cub was destined to become a fine ruler when the time came, I'm just glad the Great Kings have permitted my life to last this long so I could see it with my own eyes."

Suddenly the elephant, croc, and hippo bowed their heads to Simba, causing the young king to look at them with surprise. He was not expecting this type of respect from leaders of whom he never even met. As they bowed their heads, the elephant spoke: "Thank you for restoring the land that was our home, and for giving our families the chance, yet again, to live in the place of our ancestors."

Simba was truly touched by the leader's words. He was at a loss at what to say. At not time when he was returning did he believe that he would be fighting for others other than his pride. All he did was stop his uncle after years of hiding. Part of him felt underserving as he looked up at the elephant. Such a mighty creature didn't need to give him such praise.

"I…" he tried to find the words to say to the elephant, "It… was nothing, your grace."

"Your grace?!" the old elephant bellowed as he erupted in a fit of laughter, "I may be leader of my pack but we are friends, King Simba, just as your father was a good friend of mine. Please, call me Aminifu."

"And I am known as Pua." The croc added.

"Call me Basi." The old hippo chuckled as his ears wiggled with glee, "We look forward to working with the royal family once more."

"And we," said Sarabi as she stepped in to stand by her son and bow to the leaders in respect, "Look forward to having you with us again, old friends."

As they all continued to talk, Nala was nearby relaxing by the waterhole's bank, watching her son poke his head out from behind her paws. He had become quite the happy and curious cub in his short time in the world. Although he never left his mother's side, he still would make attempts to try and venture forth and explore. To keep him occupied while the adults were talking, Kopa's uncles were by the waterhole, trying to teach him some tricks for when he learned how to walk and swim.

"Now listen, Kopa," Timon instructed the infant, who was watching his uncle intently from Nala's paws, "The trick to doing a good cannon ball is to make sure your legs are tucked in tightly to your chest, otherwise you won't make a big enough splash. Observe." Timon stood on the tip of Pumbaa's snout and began to stretch his arms and legs. Kopa laughed as he watched Timon twist his body in weird ways that the young prince thought was funny. When Timon was done loosening up, he leapt of Pumbaa's snout and yelled: "Cannon baaaaaaallll!"

When Timon hit the water, no one heard a splash, but rather a splat. Kopa began to let out infantile bursts of laughter as he saw Timon's eyes bulge out of his head and his teeth clench together. Only half of his body was sticking out of the water. Nala shook her head in amusement as she realized Timon had cannon balled in the shallow part of the pond.

"Uh… Timon?" Pumbaa asked, looking down at his friend "Are you ok?" Timon slowly looked up at his buddy, his teeth still clutched together as he could still feel the pain coursing through his lower section of his body. He then said in a rather high-pitched whisper: "I'm good."

Kopa decided he wanted to go over to his uncles to see if they could play with him so he began to try to crawl out of Kiara's paws and head towards them.

"Aww, where do you think you're going my little prince?" Nala cooed as she watched Kopa get about a few feet out from her, almost to the water's edge, just then a trunk came out of nowhere and lifted up the prince into the air.

"Hold on there, little one," Aminifu said, as the infant squealed in delight by being so high off the ground, "You can barely walk yet, let alone swim." Gently he set him back in between Nala's paws before gesturing to the queen. Nala looked back and smiled at Simba and the other 3 animal leaders as they approached.

"Thank you Aminifu." Nala said, while Kopa was giggling in between her paws.

"Anything for the royal family." Then Aminifu looked over at Simba, who had now went and laid beside his mother, with a look of pride on his face.

"You have quite the adventurous cub, Simba. You must be very proud." Basi smiled, which earned a nod from the Lion King. He had no idea he could feel this kind of joy before Kopa showed up in his life. The leader of the crocs, Pua, would join them as he walked beside Sarabi and looked at her, giving the retired queen a knowing smile.

"Your boy tries so hard to please, Sarabi." He told her, "I have no doubt he'll do his father's name proud."

"I know." Sarabi smiled as her gaze went back to her son, who in return nuzzled her head. It had been so long since Sarabi had been so content, so happy. For years she mourned the loss of her son and husband, not knowing how she was going to move on from such a tragedy. Thanks to Nala and the rest of the pride, however, they gave her a new resolve: to preserve the Pride Lands and to help each other survive in the barren lands. It seemed hopeless at first, but when her son returned back from the dead and retook the throne, Sarabi knew it was all worth it. Now, old and tired, all she wanted to do was spend each and every moment with her son and his family and enjoy each and every moment of it.

"a-gen!" Kopa squealed, enjoying the short ride Aminifu gave him.

"Again?" Nala asked, smiling as her son nodded his head in response, "I think you've had enough excitement for one afternoon my little prince. Besides, it's time for your bath." At first, Kopa began to squirm, wanting to get out of Nala's grip so that he could get to the elephant, but once she began to gently lick the top of his head with her tongue, he began to calm down.

"Unbelievable." Simba said as he watched as his son allowed Nala to bathe him without even letting out a fuss. Sarabi chuckled as she watched her son's expression.

"Now if only you could have been that calm when I bathed you." Sarabi smiled, thinking back to Simba's cub years. Simba just shook his head in disbelief as he said: "I still don't get what there is to like about baths." Overhearing their conversation, Nala picked up her head and gave Simba a skeptical look.

"So, you would rather go through life covered in mud. What kind of example would that be for our son?"

"I'm not saying that I don't like to be clean." Simba argued playfully, "I just think-" Suddenly, Simba stopped talking, for he noticed that something seemed off. A few gazelles started to leave, followed by a buffalo and then some zebra. The Lion King knew something was wrong. True, they weren't that fond of hanging out around lions, but they knew they weren't in any danger since the king brought a young cub along; plus, there were three animal leaders with them. No, the lions weren't what was scaring the animals. It was something else.

"Everyone," he said as he got to his feet, his tone and stance both becoming serious, "I think we have to leave."

"Now why would you ever want to do that?" a voice suddenly asked followed by laughter, "I thought you just got here." Suddenly the grass in front of Simba and his family began to stir, and in a few seconds, three black, dog like creatures emerged from the tall grass.

"Hyenas!" Timon and Pumbaa yelled in unison as they scrambled out of the water and ran behind Simba. Sarabi quickly rushed to Nala's side while Nala stood over Kopa, ready to fight for her son's life. Simba also stood ready alongside his family. He recognized the three hyenas and he was not happy at all to see them.

"Shenzi, Banzai, and Ed." Simba growled as the trio made themselves known, "You three got a lot of nerve coming back here." Ed began to laugh hysterically at the sound of his own name while Shenzi held up her paws.

"Whoa! Whoa! Down kitty!" Shenzi said, waving her paws in the air to show she wasn't a threat, "I know, I know: you hate our guts and you banished us back to the Elephant Graveyard. We don't want no trouble." Simba was about it respond, but Aminifu beat him to it.

"Then you better have a good reason for coming back here!" The three leaders stepped forward, putting themselves between the hyenas and the royal family. None of them were in the mood for tolerating these mangy mutts anymore. They had endured enough heartache because of the clan's over-hunting.

"You have no right to be here after all you have done!" Aminifu trumpeted as he stood before them with Basi to his right and Pua on his left, "Why, all I need is the King's command and I'll show you what for!" The sight of the angry elephant coming closer to them caused Banzai to whimper a little bit. The last time he was this close to a male elephant his behind got ripped up pretty bad, even worse than what Mufasa had done to him, and he didn't want to go through that again.

"Shenzi…" he nervously nudged her, "hurry this up!" Paying little attention to Banzai's wining, Shenzi stood tall, not backing down from the 3 powerful leaders. She seemed ready to fight them if need be, but before anything happened, Simba suddenly came forward and stood in front of the leaders.

"Everyone, stand down." Simba ordered the leaders.

"But Simba…" Pua tried to protest, but the Lion King cut him off.

"So far they haven't attacked us. Let's see what is going on." None of them looked happy with Simba's decision to not let them run the hyenas off. Never the less, he was their king. Reluctantly, the leaders stepped back and waited patiently if Simba decided to change his mind. Upon witnessing this, Shenzi felt a bit more confident. She made a motion with her head to Ed to go grab something before looking back at the leaders and approached them.

"We don't want any trouble, Goldilocks." She said with confidence, "We just thought we'd drop by and pay our respects to the new addition." As the hyena matriarch spoke, her eyes locked onto Kopa, who was looking at the hyenas with curiosity rather than fear. Nala noticed this and growled, the hairs on her back standing up straight.

"Stay away from him!" the queen growled, remembering all too well the terrible hardships the hyenas caused the Pride Lands when Scar was king.

"Don't worry, Nala." Shenzi grinned at the lioness, "We have no desire to do any harm to your son. Besides, they are all fluff at that age anyway." Shenzi and Banzai began to erupt in hysterical laughter at what she just said, but Shenzi quickly composed herself before addressing Simba. Aminifu let out a low rumble, not liking how comfortable she looked when talking to them.

"I'm not liking this," Basi whispered to Pua.

"Agreed," the croc replied, "It's not what Shenzi can do that worries me, it's how she acts despite knowing what we can do to her."

"Anyway, your kingliness," the hyena leader continued, "lately me and the boys have been feeling a bit guilty about what we did to you and your father all those years ago. And we thought that perhaps we could… you know… start over?" There was silence for a moment, for everyone had to make sure they weren't hearing things.

"Wait… come again?" Timon asked peeking his head out Pumba's black hair.

"You heard her," Banzai snapped, "We're sorry, we apologize, we want to bury the hatchet, we…"

"Shut up you moron!" Shenzi snarled as she smacked Banzai on the back of his head with her paw. That was something no one expected to hear. The hyenas were sorry? They wanted peace? Simba thought it was almost too good to be true.

"And why should we believe this?" Sarabi asked skeptically, stepping into the conversation.

"Because the truth is the truth." Shenzi replied, "If we did come here to fight, wouldn't you think we would have brought the others to help us? Besides, even if we did bring them, you have an elephant, hippo, and crocodile on your side. It'd be suicide!" Simba began to relax his stance, knowing that the hyenas didn't come to fight, but he still remained stern as he glared at the hyenas. This was not like them in the slightest to be so straightforward and sincere about something like this.

"Why are you even telling me this?" Simba asked, not letting his guard down, "What's the catch?" Shenzi just gave Simba a sly smile before answering.

"Since we know you still are probably angry at us for what happened, we thought we'd leave you a… gift. Something to make up for it all." Simba was about to ask what that meant, until a sudden whimpering was heard as Ed grabbed something from out of the tall grass and brought it to Simba. The Lion King only stood there with his jaw open, not knowing how to react with what was placed before him.

"What is this?" he asked Shenzi, a mix of anger and confusion in his voice. The female hyena smiled and asked: "What's the matter Simba? Have you never seen a hyena pup before?"

Everyone just stared at the pup dumbfounded, not knowing how to react. For at Simba's feet was a small hyena pup with a grey coat and a bit of black hair on the top of his head, running down the back of his neck. He looked to be about a few months old and was only a bit bigger than Kopa. The pup whimpered as he looked up at the tall golden lion.

"A hyena pup?!" Timon shouted from on top of Pumbaa's head, "What kind of sick joke is this?!"

"Well?" Shenzi addressed Simba, ignoring Timon's shouting, "Do you want him or not?" Simba stared at the pup for a moment, until asking Shenzi: "What do you expect me to do with this… thing?"

"Don't know, don't care." Shenzi shrugged, "Eat him, beat him, throw him off a cliff, whatever you do, he has a better chance with you then he does with us."

"You're… you're kidding me." Simba said dumbfounded. Everyone was silent. Timon and Pumbaa just stared at the hyenas in shock while Sarabi, the animal leaders, and Nala had looks of disgust all over their faces. Simba, however, still didn't understand. "Why are you giving-?"

"Because they don't want him!" Sarabi growled, putting the pieces together in her mind. The hyenas took a step back, knowing that the retired queen still had a major grudge against them.

"I guess your father never really finished your education before he became roadkill, eh?" Banzai laughed. Simba growled as they mentioned the stampede, but Shenzi ignored him and began to explain, "You see, your highness, we hyenas have a different system then you lions. We live in packs, not prides. We hunt at night and not during the day. We are ruled by matriarchs and not kings, and it just so happens I am my pack's matriarch."

"Boooriiing! Get to the point already!" Timon shouted. Rolling her eyes in annoyance, Shenzi continued.

"Well, the point is that we are all back in the Graveyard and are having a rough time when it comes to food. I already have pups of my own now, so our situation isn't exactly butterflies and rainbows. This one, seeing as it's a boy, is… oh what the word… Expendable. His parents abandoned him when they left the pack, so here I am with another unwanted mouth to feed. Being the kind mother that I am, I took into account that there was no chance me or anyone would care about what happens to him and the last thing I need is to have the blood of a family member on my paws… soooo…"

"You want us to do your work for you." Simba growled, connecting the dots in his head. All that talk of friendship and wanting to put the past behind them. It was all just a ruse to think that they were truly sorry about what they did, when in reality, all they wanted was to get rid of a pup they didn't want.

"Consider it payback," Shenzi shrugged with a hint of distaste in her voice, "We helped take away your father and uncle so it's only fair you take away something from us."

"You heartless…" Pua hissed as he took a step towards the trio, but Simba held his paw out and stopped the leaders from going rogue.

"What's his name?" Simba asked.

"In all honesty, he doesn't have one." Shenzi replied, "We just kept it around for a good laugh. Because it is funny to think he ever had a chance at life." Simba had heard enough at this point and he began to slowly advance. He felt so many mixed emotions with what was taking place before him. Anger, pity, sorrow, compassion, and disgust surged through his body as he stared at the ones who played a part in his father's demise.

"This pup will stay here in the Pride Lands where I will decide his fate…" He answered calmly, "but I have something to give you three in return…"

"Well hold that that Kitty King. I think we overstayed our welcome," Shenzi turned her back to them and began to walk away, "Come on boys, let's g-ack!"

"Oh no you don't!" Aminifu saw that they were about to run off and he grabbed Shenzi with his trunk before she could do so, "You're not going anywhere until your king is done!"

"Hey!" Banzai growled and tried to lunge at the elephant, only to be rammed by Basi the hippo, sending him flying into the water with a loud splash. Ed saw that his friends were in trouble and tried to tip toe away from the conflict, only to look forward and have his snout inches away from a hissing Pua's slender jaws.

"Eh? Ehehe…" he gave an apologetic smile and laughed nervously at the croc, waving hello like a scared animal before backing up and going back to Shenzi and Banzai.

Seeing that Shenzi and her lot weren't going anywhere without him allowing them, he approached Shenzi who was pinned down by the elephant's trunk. Simba took this opportunity and stood over the hyena, pushing his paw up against the back of Shenzi's head and pulled her back so that she could look into his eyes as he spoke. Shenzi growled in pain as she struggled to escape the Lion King's grip, but Simba and the elephant were just too strong for her. In a low, menacing voice, Simba gave her a message.

"Stay out of the Pride Lands… or else."

Having said that, Simba let Shenzi up, and just as quickly as they came, the three hyenas ran away, whimpering with their tails tucked in between their legs.

"Good riddance." Aminifu huffed as he watched them disappear into the tall grass. Seeing that the hyenas were now gone, Sarabi and Nala walked up to Simba to make sure the Lion King was alright.

"Simba?" Nala asked. "Are you ok?" Simba didn't answer. For the longest time, he just stood there, watching the direction in which the hyenas ran away. In his mind, he was happy to see them go, but in his heart, a quote that his father told him kept nagging at his head.

"We are all connected… in the great _Circle of Life_." He whispered inaudibly to himself. That was what Mufasa told him as a cub and Simba had hung onto every word. But now it made him think if they were all connected, then, what part do the hyenas play? All the trouble they caused… all the heartache… what great plan is there for them? This thought made him question if it was good if the hyenas left the Pride Lands for good. Would the Pride Lands change, and if so, would it be for the better or worse? All these things went through Simba's head that was, until he heard a sudden squeak come from behind him.

He, Sarabi, Nala, and the others looked back and were completely dumbfounded by what they saw. Kopa had crawled up to the young pup and tried to play with him. The pup was still a bit nervous, and backed away when Kopa batted his shoulder with his paw. Kopa chuckled and tried to crawl towards him, but Timon and Pumbaa stopped him.

"Whoa! Hold on kiddo!" Timon said, getting in front of the infant, "I forbid you from- Gah!" before Timon knew what happened, the pup came up behind him and nipped his tail, which caused Kopa to once again giggle. Yanking his tail out of the pup's mouth, the meerkat scurried back on top of Pumbaa's head.

"See! See!" Timon exclaimed as he pointed his fingers at the pup, "Already it's got the taste for meerkat! That thing is dangerous!"

"Hey," Pumbaa spoke up, "Timon, he's just a little hyena. Look at him, he's so cute and all alone! Can we keep him?"

"Pumbaa, are you nuts?!" Timon exclaimed, "You're talking about a hyena! Hyenas eat guys like us!"

"But he's so little!" Pumbaa argued.

"He's going to get bigger!"

"Maybe he'll be on our side."

"Ha!" Timon scoffed as he hopped off of Pumbaa's head, "That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard! Why don't we… Hey… Knock it off!" Timon exclaimed as he felt something sharp nip at his tail again, only this time it was Kopa. Kopa and the pup laughed as Timon looked at them with an angry face.

"Simba!" Timon exclaimed as he yanked his tail out of the infant's mouth. Simba didn't respond. He just looked at the hyena pup as it began to play with his son. Timon, however, wasn't amused. "Do something! Just look at what they did to my tail! That pup is already setting a bad example for your kid! Tell Pumbaa that there is no way…"

"Hmmmm…" all eyes turned to the elephant as he began to speak. "This is one situation that is quite the problem now is it?" He scratched to top of his smooth white head with his trunk, clearly deep in thought, "Is it possible to… no…

"What is it?" Sarabi asked, knowing that look on Aminifu's face.

"Well… if I remember my history…" the elephant began, addressing Simba, "long ago, and we are talking about before the time of Mufasa, lions and hyenas were not really at each other's throats like they are today. I mean sure, there were a few incidents and even a war that broke out every generation or two, but truly, it was due to the leaders of those days. Many stories from the old days were about lion and hyenas as companions." Simba and the others listened as the elephant tried to speak his mind on the matter. "I remember my father telling me of a great king… Mohatu I believe his name was… and he actually made peace with the hyenas during his rule, partly because he was willing to overlook the actions of their ancestors and was a good friend of their matriarch during that time. That is, however, the last recorded record of peace between the two species. Since then, hyenas have caused the Pride Lands much trouble, no thanks to Scar no doubt; but seeing how this pup seems to take a liking towards your son, Simba, maybe… just maybe… if we play our cards right, this pup just might be able to-"

"Waaaaait a minute." Timon said as he approached the elephant, his hands resting on his hips as he looked at the pachyderm crossly. "I know what you're up too. Well listen here bub, we are not; I repeat: NOT, about to take in that… killer!"

"Rubbish!" Aminifu shouted back, glaring menacingly over the meerkat, making him feel ten times smaller than he truly was. "If you were but an infant, then would it be appropriate to have thrown you out because we assumed you would end up a slob? Don't judge a seed until after it has sprouted! Besides, I'm afraid that the decision on whether or not to keep the pup is not up to you, scrawny mongoose, it's up to your king."

"Mongoose?! Why I outa…" seeing that Timon was too angry to think, Pumba placed his hoof down on Timon's tail while the meerkat tried to run at the elephant, venting all his rage in incoherent screams. Despite his protest, none really paid attention to Timon's antics and focused on what to do with this hyena pup.

"This… certainly is a peculiar matter, isn't it?" Basi said as he looked at Simba.

"Your highness," Pua added, "The Circle of Life can be cruel as well as beautiful, but we all respect its meaning and your rule. Should you choose to discard of this creature, it'll be on Shenzi's head for putting its fate in your paws. No one will think little of you. Life or death… I believe there is no wrong answer in this case, just a harder one."

Everyone turned back to Simba, who had been thinking about this greatly ever since the hyenas ran off. Still, the king remained silent, though a smile shown clearly on his face as he watched the two children play with each other. That was something that the Lion King never thought he would ever see: a lion and hyena… together. No hatred, no secret ambitions, no distrust: just pure friendship. Maybe… just maybe… there was a place in the Circle of Life for a hyena.

He slowly walked over to the two infants, who stopped playing when they saw Simba approaching them. Kopa instantly began to crawl towards his father, while the hyena pup whimpered and took a few steps back in fear of seeing the large lion.

"Hey kiddo," Simba greeted his son, "Made a new friend I see." Kopa cooed as he rubbed his small head against Simba's leg, enjoying being close to his father. Upon seeing this, the pup looked curiously at the lion, wondering whether or not he was friendly. His new friend seemed to like him. Maybe he wasn't dangerous. Experimentally, the hyena pup crept towards Simba, with his ears laid back and his tail between his legs. Simba looked down at the whimpering pup who was looking back at him with literal puppy eyes.

"It's ok," Simba softly said to the hyena, "I'm not going to hurt you." Slowly, he stretched out his paw and gently began to stroke the top of the pup's head. The pup flinched at first, but upon feeling Simba's gentle, soft paw stroked the top of his head and back, he began to relax. Fear began to leave him as the pup realized that there was nothing to worry about. Whoever this lion was, he was nice. He then walked up to Simba and began to rub his head up against his leg just like Kopa was doing. Simba watched both of them all the while smiling from ear to ear.

"Though Pua speaks true, my king," Aminifu said as he walked up beside Simba and put a trunk on his shoulder, "sometimes life presents challenges, hardships, regrets; and these are things that are not easily forgotten. However, second chances, new life, understanding, these are what can grow from hardships, but they can only grow _if given the chance_. This pup did not choose where he would be in the Circle of Life nor did he choose what he would be, but I wonder; if given the chance, can he be more than what he should have been?" Aminifu's words tugged at the Lion King's heart.

Simba knew that deep down he would always have a dislike for the hyenas for what they did… but not this one. Neither his son nor the pup knew about the hatred and rivalry between lions and hyenas. They were together, they were happy, and soon, they would be family.

Lifting up his head, Simba looked at his family and friends before saying sternly, "The pup stays with us." Everyone was shocked by what Simba said, but nothing prepared them what he said next, "And I'll make sure he will be raised alongside Kopa."

"What?!" Nala exclaimed. Her outburst was so furious and sudden it caused the others to step away from her. Timon even fell off of Pumba's head when he heard the fire in Nala's voice. "Simba, you can't be serious! Keeping a hyena is one thing, but raising it with Kopa? What would the others say?" Simba just stared in shock at Nala, while the hyena and Kopa hid behind him, scared by the sudden loud and scary voice. Simba had never seen her so angry before. It startled him a bit, but Nala didn't care. She, was going to walk straight up to Simba. She was going to give him a piece of her mind. She was…

"Nala," Sarabi stepped in and placed a paw on her shoulder. She then spoke to her daughter in-law in a soft voice, "I know how you feel. The hyenas have done a lot to all of us." Nala turned around and glared at Sarabi with her aqua blue eyes. Sarabi paid no heed to Nala's expression and continued talking, "But you have to understand that Aminifu has a point. This pup is not one of them. The ones who wronged us, the ones who hurt us, are gone now. This pup may be theirs but… he hasn't done anything." In her mind, Nala could not deny the wisdom in Sarabi's voice, but she still tried to find something, anything that could persuade them into not taking the cub in.

"But he will be just like them!" Nala growled, though in her mind she knew that there was no point in arguing otherwise.

"There is a good chance he may have been, Nala." Nala turned back to see Simba sitting there with Kopa and the pup in between his forelegs looking at her curiously, "But now… he doesn't have to be like them. He can be shown… the right way to live in the Circle of Life." Nala walked over to Simba and bent down to her son and the pup's level. She looked at the pup with a stern face, unsure of how to think about it. She had to admit, his short snout, and the black freckles on his face made him look kind of cute, but there was no way she could live with that thing. It was a hyena! No doubt he was cute now, but when he grew up, he would be just like his parents: a sneaky, backstabbing…

Suddenly, Nala felt something cold touch her nose, causing her to jerk her head back and scrunched her face. The pup had just licked her on the nose and was now giggling beside Kopa as they watched Nala make a weird face in response. The queen felt a smile begin to creep onto her face at the sight of her happy son next to the hyena. That gentle lick that was given to her seemed to have chipped away whatever hard shell that surrounded her heart towards hyenas… well… this one at least.

Bending back down, Nala gave both Kopa and the pup a lick on the head, before telling Simba, "I still don't know about this Simba, but… I'm willing to give him a chance."

"I'm glad to hear that," Simba replied as he pulled his mate in for a hug. With Sarabi and Nala's approval, Simba had no doubt in his mind that the pup would soon be accepted by the other pride members; and with Aminifu's backing, maybe even the herds will come around to it. It may take some time till they are all used to the idea of a hyena living with them, but until then, Simba would make sure that this one would not be like the others. He will be taught to respect the Circle of Life, and to treat everyone right. Still, not everyone was happy with Simba's decision.

"Lovely," Timon groaned as he watched this, "We now have a ravenous mutt living with us. It's been nice knowing you all. If anyone needs me, I'll be making preparations for my funeral. Come on Pumbaa, let's get out of here before that thing gets a taste for you too." As Timon lead Pumbaa away, Nala was about to stop them, but Simba gently placed his paw on her shoulder and said, "Don't worry, I know they'll come around. They just need time."

"Maybe," Nala shrugged, "But I don't… Oh! I almost forgot! What will we call him?" Simba didn't expect that kind of response from Nala so soon, but he was glad to see that she was warming up to the young pup. Looking back at the two infants, who were now play wrestling in the grass, Simba thought about it. What would be a good name for a hyena?

"I think I might know a good one," Sarabi suddenly said as she walked up behind Simba, "How about… Kicheko?"

"Kicheko?" Simba questioned, "Doesn't that mean…"

"Laughter!" Aminifu exclaimed as he himself began to chuckle at the irony of such a name for a hyena, "Yes! Yes! Perfect!"

"Well then," Simba smiled as he walked over to the pup and ruffled his head with his paw, "Kicheko, welcome to the Pride Lands." Kicheko yipped with glee as he began to rub his head against Simba leg, feeling safe around the bigger lions.

"Now that that's settled," Nala stated, "Let's head back home. The others will probably be wondering what has been taking us so long. I wonder how they'll react."

"Only one way to find out." Sarabi stated as she picked up Kopa by the scruff of his fur. Simba followed suit and picked up the hyena pup and together, they all made their way back to Pride Rock with the new addition: Kicheko the hyena.

As the leaders watched the royal family walk away back to Pride Rock, Basi smiled at the other leaders.

"How about that," he mused, "Lions taking in a hyena pup and raising it alongside the prince himself. Like I always say: live long enough, and you'll see everything."

**To be continued...**

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**Well now how's that for a twist? You were thinking this was going to be another stereotypical Kopa story with nothing new added in, didn't ya? I've got ideas to you know. Lol.**

**Anyway, I have been busy as of late on actually starting my very own YouTube Channels. Lion Talks and Rogue Lion Gaming. One is for commentary and the other is just me messing around and playing video games. Lately I've been wanting to branch out in other areas of entertainment as well as try to connect with others who are fans of my work. I want to meet and get to have a bit more audience and creator relation with what I've got planned for the future.**

**Until next time guys, this has been Rogue Lion, signing off**

**(Salute's audience)**

**PS, does anyone recognize the animal leaders Simba is talking to in this chapter?**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hello Everyone! Sorry that this chapter is coming out so late in the day. Had some issues with Word document. It kept on not saving what I was writing. Thankfully I got it now so there's nothing to worry about!**

**Now I would like to know how many people are reading and enjoying this story I'm redoing. If we can get this story up to 35 reviews then that would just make my day but also encourage me to work extra hard on these chapters for everyone. It's not that I don't like doing these, I actually love them! But between writing and now Youtube and voice acting my attention is torn doing different types of entertaining for everyone. **

**So let me know that you're all loving this series and are eager to read and see more! With that being said: Enjoy!**

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**Chapter 5: A New Day, a New Pride Lands**

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'Time passed, and both Kopa and Kicheko grew into a happy, healthy, young cubs. Kopa's features began to look very similar to Simba's was when he was a cub. The only real difference was that he had a bright red tuff of fur on his head, which to many indicated that he would have quite the mane when he got older. Character wise: he had the bravery of his father, the agility of his mother, and the insight of his grandmother. In his early weeks, he used to get himself into all kinds of mischief, but after a few life lessons; and a good scolding, the young prince really started to show signs of maturity.

As for Kicheko, most of the pride didn't quite like the idea of having a hyena pup running around Pride Rock at first, and they especially didn't like him being around the young prince; but Simba, Nala, and Sarabi were able to convince them to at least tolerate his presence. Growing up with the other lions also affected his features, since his pelt was now a clean looking grey that made the black spots on his back pop in color. Character wise: he was very spontaneous and random. From the moment he first arrived it was clear to everyone that he was a scamp and really enjoyed cracking jokes and playing pranks on others, a trait that Timon and Pumbaa helped influence. Despite being incredibly mischievous, he never really liked going out and exploring the Pride Lands.

Whenever Kopa wanted to go on some crazy adventure in the Pride Lands, Kicheko would usually ask him: "Is it dangerous? Will we get in trouble, and will we be back in time for dinner?" if any of these were answered with, "No." or, "Maybe…" Kicheko would outright refuse to go. It annoyed the young cub greatly, but the actions pleased both Simba and Nala to see that the hyena genuinely cared for Kopa's wellbeing, and didn't appear to be following in his species' footsteps.

Being as Kopa was Simba's first born, Simba made it one of his primary goals each day to teach him about running the kingdom. Kopa absorbed everything his father had to teach him, and he really enjoyed it when his dad told him stories of the Great Kings of the Past. It made him wish that he could one day go on an adventure of his own. Since Kopa was both a combination of Simba and Nala, everyone knew it was only a matter of time before the young prince found himself in similar life threatening situations. Luckily, today's events shouldn't give Kopa any ideas of running off on his own… hopefully.

As morning approached the Pride Lands, Kopa saw from the den's entrance that the sun would soon rise, and his father told him that he would show him something that Grandpa Mufasa showed him at that age. Excited and anxious to hear today's lesson, he ran back into the den.

"Dad! Dad!" he called. Simba wearily opened his eyes to see his son jumping on and bounding over the sleeping lionesses to get to him. Somehow Simba knew his son would wake him up early for this lesson. He let out a loud yawn, stood up on all fours and started to stretch. "Come on Dad! You can't still be this tired, can you?"

"Well what did you expect," Simba asked, as he finished his stretching, "The sun hasn't even risen yet." Kopa just ignored what his father said. He went behind Simba and tried to push him forward with his head.

"Come… on Dad," he grunted as he tried to push the full grown lion out the cave, "We're going… *umph*, to miss, *urgh*, the sunrise!"

"Ok, ok I'm coming." Simba sighed, knowing that his son was determined to get to that 'special place'; but right before they left the cave, Kopa suddenly called out, "Hey Grandma! Kicheko! Are you guys coming with us?" Simba flinched, and gritted his teeth as he heard the angry groans from the other lionesses, waking up to his son's loud offer.

"Put a sock in it, will ya?" Kicheko groaned as he covered his ears to try and block out Kopa's voice, "It's a new thing called silence, you should try it sometime."

"Um… Kopa," Simba said as he quickly nudged his son towards the den's exit, "Grandma has somewhere she needed to go to today, and I think it would be best to let everyone else Kicheko sleep a bit longer. So, try and be quiet. Ok?"

"Oh," Kopa said, realizing his mistake. He then looked back at everyone and yelled: "My bad! You can go back to sleep if you want!"

Once again, Kopa and Simba were answered by loud moans and groans from the once peaceful pride. While Simba quickly nudged Kopa to get out of the den, one of the lionesses groaned: "Sometimes I wish someone would just put a muzzle on that kid."

"Preach it sister!" Kicheko agreed as he yawned and got back into a comfortable position before falling asleep.

Putting the whole morning fiasco behind them, Simba and his son made their way up the spiraling, rocky staircase that led to the very top of Pride Rock. As the king and prince sat on the edge and gazed at the dark savannah, Simba couldn't help but smile. The atmosphere of the black morning, the cool breeze; it all brought back memories of the time when his father shared with him the wisdom of the Great Kings. And now it was Simba's turn, except he wanted to add a little something extra to this moment.

"Close your eyes, son."

"What?" Kopa looked at his father, puzzled by what he said.

"Trust me." Without another word, Kopa closed his eyes and wondered what his father was up to. They both sat there patiently, waiting for the sun with their heads held high. In a matter of seconds, the dark savannah started to become brighter as the sun started to peek over the rolling hills and slowly ascend into the sky. Though Kopa still had his eyes shut, he felt the warm rays of light shine on his face and knew that whatever his father was going to tell him was going to be good. Then Simba spoke with a deep authoritative voice, "Look around son. Everything the light touches, is our kingdom."

Kopa then opened his eyes and gazed upon the vast land that was now covered in what looked like a blanket of bright orange and gold light; his home. It stretched out for miles and miles, with no end in sight. "A king's rule rises and falls like the sun. One day…"

"One day I'm going to be king!" Kopa declared excitedly. Simba smiled at his son's enthusiasm. Kopa was truly a spitting image of himself, except for the fact that he had more hair than he did when he was a cub.

"You sure are kido," Simba said as he gently cuffed Kopa on the head with his paw, "But you have a lot to learn until then."

"Daaaaad!" Kopa wined. He hated it when his dad messed with his hair, "Dad, you're messing up my mane!" but Simba just kept on rubbing his son's head with his paws. "Seriously Dad, cut it out!" Kopa's complaining started to turn into a giggle.

"Why don't you make me?" Simba asked in a playful tone. Kopa saw that as a challenge and leaped at Simba, ramming straight into his chest. This caught Simba off guard and caused him to stagger and fall flat on his back. Simba looked up at his son, who was now sitting on his chest and smiling from ear to ear, with a shocked look on his face. Kopa was clearly proud that he was able to pin his father.

"Heh, you are your Mother's son," Simba said with a warm smile. Kopa was about to rub it in his face, until he felt Simba's paws wrap around him and pulled him into a tight squeeze. "But you still have a lot to learn before you can take me on." Simba then held onto Kopa tightly, making sure that there was no way he could escape. Kopa tried to get free of his father's grip, but Simba's strength was just too much for him.

"You give up yet?" Simba asked.

"Urgh… Never!" he growled playfully, "A true king never gives up!"

"Oh go easy on him Simba, he is just a cub?" both Simba and Kopa stopped playing when they heard Nala's voice. They both looked up at the queen and Kicheko, who just stood there, smiling warmly at them. Simba let his son go so that he could go see his mother and friend.

"Ah come on Mom," Kopa said while rubbing up against his Mother's leg, "We were just having a bit of fun."

"Losing for what is now the 66th time at a wrestling match against a lion that is 4 times bigger than you is not exactly my idea of fun." Kicheko stated bluntly. Kopa just nudged Kicheko playfully in response, which earned him a mischievous smile from the hyena. Simba got up off the ground and approached his queen and prince.

"So what brings you two up here?" Simba asked.

"You mean other than our son's loud wake-up call?" She asked with a unique twinkle in her eyes. Kopa just smiled at his Mother's comment about him. Then she explained, "I was just wondering if you all would like to go on a little walk through the Pride Lands, together as a family."

"Oh! Can I choose where to go?" Kopa eagerly asked as he look up from his position between his mother's front paws. Nala and Simba cocked their eyebrows at their son. For some reason he seemed a little overly excited about Nala's offer.

"What place did you have in mind kiddo?" Simba asked. Nothing prepared Simba and Nala for their son's answer.

"That shadowy place to the north!" Simba and Nala were quite surprised at what they heard. They knew exactly where Kopa was talking about and they felt a wave of memories come over them as they remembered that place. Kicheko, however, let out an annoyed groan and muttered, "Really? Why do you always pick the not so pleasant places to go? An oasis or an all you can eat buffet would be a much nicer fieldtrip if you ask me."

Thankfully for the hyena, he wasn't the only one who didn't agree with Kopa's decision. The king and queen exchanged nervous glances before looking back at their son and sternly said in unison, "No!"

"Ahhhh come on," Kopa whined, "why not?"

"Honey," Nala explained as she brushed Kopa's back with her paw, "that place is dangerous. It's filled with hyenas and who knows what other scary stuff."

"Really?" Kicheko once again asked in annoyance, "The hyena card? While I'm standing right here?" Nala shook her head in amusement and said, "You know what I mean Kicheko. Hyenas who actually want to hurt Kopa."

"See, now that's much better." Kicheko smiled.

"But Grandma said that you and Dad went there when you were young, so why can't I?" Kopa argued. Well… this conversation took a rather embarrassing turn. Simba let out an annoyed sigh while Nala let out a rather nervous chuckle.

"Well, uh, you see son," Simba stammered, "things were different back then. And your mother and I were, well…"

"Good morning, Sire!"

"Oh thank goodness." Simba let out a sigh of relief when he heard Zazu's voice. Quite frankly, this was the first time Simba could remember being actually glad to see the blue hornbill. Wanting to get off the subject of his childhood mistakes, he greeted, "Hey there Zazu! Just the major domo I've been looking for."

"Um… I'm the only major domo here, sire." Between Simba's strange greeting, and the fact he was now pulling Zazu in for a tight hug, the hornbill was feeling a bit uncomfortable at this point.

"That's nice. So what's the morning report today?"

"Well," Zazu began as he got out of Simba's grasp and cleared his throat, "There's word going around the Pride Lands that the tortes' are off to a slow start this season. The rhinos are trying to get there point across. The…" As Zazu started going over the problems in the Pride Lands, Nala, Kicheko, and Kopa just watched and listed as the hornbill rattled on. Kopa just sat between his mother's legs and pouted. Sometimes Zazu could be such a kill joy. Nala just smiled at her son's behavior, though on the inside she was laughing her head off. Kopa really was just like his father, besides the fact that he had more hair on his head then Simba ever did at that age. After waiting for about… 13 seconds, Kopa's patience finally ran out.

"Um hellooooooo?" he said, making it obvious that he was waiting. "Not to be the annoying hornbill to this conversation; no offence Zazu."

"Some taken." The hornbill replied bluntly.

"Aren't we supposed to be heading towards that special place you talked about, Dad?" Simba looked at his son, then looked back at his mate with a pleading smile, hoping that she would step in and explain to Kopa why they would not go to the shadowy place; unfortunately, she shook her head no. Simba wasn't getting out of this that easily. Seeing that there was no way out of explaining to Kopa why they couldn't go, Simba decided to get it over with.

"You see son," Simba cleared his throat, "I am sorry, but I can't take you on that trip right now." Kopa's ears flattened against his head in disappointment, while Kicheko was screaming _"Yes! Yes! Yes!"_ in his mind.

"B-but why?" Kopa asked, giving his father a pouty face. Oh boy… here it comes. Those beautiful, bright amber eyes were about to be filled with tears. That was the one part of the parenting job that Simba hated: seeing his son cry. But there was no way out of this… unless… Suddenly a brilliant idea popped into Simba's head.

"I almost forgot," he said with a smile appearing onto his face, "You can't go today because you have to attend a royal lesson… with your uncles."

"What?!" Zazu, Nala, and Kopa exclaimed in unison.

"Eh," Kicheko shrugged, not really fazed by Simba's response, "I've heard stranger things."

"You're kidding?" Kopa said in disbelief, "Uncle Timon and Uncle Pumbaa have a royal lesson for me?" Simba nodded, but Kopa was still thinking that this was just some joke. "Don't get me wrong, I don't mind them teaching me something, but they don't seem like the kind of guys who can teach… you know, important stuff."

"I'm afraid I have to agree with the young prince with this one sire," Zazu said, "ever since they came here they have done nothing but… well… nothing."

"Exactly," Everyone just looked at Simba, puzzled by his response. Then Simba looked back at his son, who was now very curious about this royal lesson, "You see Kopa: when I was a cub I was taught how to be a king by my father, the great King Mufasa; but your uncles taught me a few important things as well."

"They have?" Kopa asked curiously.

"Yes, and let me tell you: no king in the history of the Pride Lands has ever learned the lessons they have taught me. And today they are supposed to teach you those special lessons."

"Wow!" Kopa responded in awe, absorbing every word that Simba told him; Nala, Kicheko, and Zazu, however weren't all that impressed. They knew what Simba was talking about and they wouldn't exactly consider Timon and Pumbaa's lesson to be all that important.

"So you go and meet them at their home near the falls and tell them that I sent you so that you could learn their 'matto'." Simba winked at Kopa, which made the prince even more excited. Nala was about to say something, but Kopa cut her off.

"Alright! See you later guys! I got some king stuff to take care of!" in saying that, Kopa was about to dash down the stare case and make his way out into the savannah, but before he left he turned back and was wondering if his best friend would join him. "Hey Kicheko, you want to tag along?" The hyena let out a fake yawn and answered, "You know what? I think I hadn't had enough sleep last night. I think I'll just go and fix that while you do… whatever it is was you said you were going to do."

"Aw, come on K," Kopa persisted, "It just wouldn't be the same without you." Kicheko groaned, in annoyance. He knew Kopa well, and he knew the prince would not stop pestering him until he came along. And seeing how he wasn't going anywhere dangerous, he didn't really have an excuse for not coming. Letting out one more sigh, he reluctantly agreed to tag along, and together they went out to see Timon and Pumba.

All the while, Zazu and Nala now stared at Simba, who at this point was trying his best to not laugh.

Simba?" Nala asked, now with a concerned tone "What did you tell our son?"

"O… nothing," Simba shrugged, "Just that Timon and Pumbaa have an important lesson to teach him." Nala glared at Simba. She had a feeling she knew what he was referring too.

"You don't mean that ridiculous saying that they live by?" Zazu asked. Simba tried to act serious, but he couldn't hide his guilty smile that they knew all too well.

"Ah come on guys," he chuckled, "When has Hakuna Matata ever hurt anyone?"

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As the two young cubs scampered down Pride Rock and headed out towards the savannah, little did they know they were being watched. On a nearby hill, two males peaked their heads out of the grass and watched them scurry by. Both had tan fur with dark brown manes, yet one would incredibly buff and the other was small and sleek.

"Cubs going off to play on their own now? Without supervision?" the big one chuckled quietly, "My, my, things have most certainly changed.

"Follow them. Follow them, we should." The smaller one spoke in jitters and stutters, "Easy pickings they are, yes? We take by surprise. Run down like deku deer. Show them to the king."

"Quiet you fools." A new voice spoke up. Both males winced and looked back to see two others who were hidden behind them. Unlike the browned maned lions, these two were quite different. One had dark fur and a black mane while the other was actually an albino, which was rare trait among all lions.

"We can't get side tracked. Not now." He addressed the males, getting their attention.

"I still don't understand why we can't just snatch the kids and be done with it." The buff lion growled in annoyance which earned him a stern glare from the black maned lion who's left cheek had a noticible pink slash scar across it.

"Need I remind you the punishment for failure, Brang?" he said sternly as he addressed the lion and his smaller counterpart, "You and Brin are just like the rest of us: tools sent here to complete a mission. If you can't do that then I'll just have to tell his majesty you disobeyed orders, and you know how he feels about betrayal." There was an earie silence that fell over the group as the brown maned lions known as Brin and Brang looked at the head lion with narrowed eyes.

"Fine… Vita." The smaller lion named Brin said as he went beside his brother, "We'll hold off on our hunt for now. But the moment the master deems them both as prey, you all need to stay out of our way." This earned a laugh from Vita who stood up and addressed the group.

"Alright. Let's not waste anymore time." Vita addressed the group, "Brin, Brang, you know the plan. Tizamo?" He addressed the albino lion who simply looked back at him with a stoic expression and nodded, as if he was not in the mood to speak. Seeing this, the four males then looked back to the last member of their party, a lioness. She sat with her back turned to them, facing in the direction of the Pride Land's borders. Like Brin and Brang her fur was tan, but she had a distinct brown streak of fur that ran down the back of her head all the way up to her forehead.

Vita stepped forward from the group and addressed her: "We're ready on your command."

"I wonder how he is doing," the lioness said softly as if talking to herself and not addressing the others, "We haven't left his side since the battle. What if-"

"Zira?"

The speaking of her name caused the lioness to flick her ears and look back at the group who all bowed their heads in respect to her.

"Are you ready to begin?" Vita asked her. She looked at them all before glancing once more towards the borders. Taking in a deep breath to calm and compose herself, she looked back at her small band of males.

"My fellow guardsmen," She spoke to them with authority, "It's time we show these usurpers that it takes more than blood to run a kingdom. For the true king!"

"For the true king!"

**END of CHAPTER**

* * *

**Dun Dun Duuuuuuuuuuuuunnnnn!**

**Zira has reapeared and it looks like she's not alone. Wonder what they all got in store for the PRide Lands. Nothing good I imagine. **

**Hope you guys enjoyed and remember to leave a review to let me know what you thought about this chapter and how the story is coming along so far.**

**As always guys, This has been Rogue Lion, Signing off!**

**(Salutes the audience)**


	6. a LONG needed update

**Hello everyone! I'm not dead… but I have not been as active as I once was. You all deserve an explanation to why this stories haven't been going forward as of late. **

**First off I want to say I've NOT lost a disinterest in these stories. "In A Perfect World", "TLK 3", "Lion of Durin," All of these are stories that are near and dear to me because they were the first big projects I began… but I need to finish them and I want to. Not just for myself but for all of you out there who enjoy them and want to see the story fulfilled and see where the characters go and what happens to them. But there have been things that have been going on and I need to address them and let you all know about them to. Nothing life threatening… unless you count 2020 as a whole. Lol. But still big things that have stalled my writing and creativity.**

1\. **1\. ****College and money**

**I'm 24 years old and going on 25 next march. I don't have the freedom like I used to when I was younger to sit down and write things for people… for free that is. I need to work on college papers, need to make money for food and living, and I need to help out my family and be there for friends during these rough times. I've considering doing commission works like people do on deviantart for artwork but I'm not entirely sure how to do it, plus I know you guys enjoy the free content and chapters I've been putting out and I want to keep doing that but… unless I focus on getting stuff into my bank account then I wont have anything. **

**2.****2\. ****Time Management.**

**Going to be honest, I suck at time management and prioritizing. Unless I got friends checking in once in a while, I get distracted on personal projects. Not sure if it's my attention span or stress on real life issues but I've struggled greatly in terms of prioritizing personal projects like writing and fanfiction. That one's on me and how I'm wired. Sorry guys. **

**3.****3\. ****Loss of chapters.**

**So originally, I had all of the chapters laid out for what I write for each of them and I had my original script for TLK 3 that I wanted to revise (That thing had 29 completed chapters before I made the hard call to reboot it) But then suddenly a virus hit and all things back in 2016-2019 went poof. So… big demoralizing hit for me personally. I tried to pick up the ball but it really struck me in the core to lose all of that nostalgic and good mapped out story plans.**

**4.****4\. ****YouTube and voice acting**

**That's not to say I haven't been productive all this time. I've actually started YouTube! Rogue Lion Productions! There I've been doing voice acting, practiced my editing, and started making content for a wider range of audiences. I've hit over 100 subs so far on my personal channel and I'm also doing commission work on making Betrothed (a lion king fan comic made by deviant artist Nala15) into a motion comic with voice actors, music, sound effects, the whole works! That's where most of my focus has been and in doing so has taken a lot of attention away from the fanfiction site.**

**So this has been what's been going on in the background. Again, I'm very sorry for my lack of and I'll be trying to get chapters and content out for all of you in terms of fanfiction stories. In the meantime, my channel "Rogue Lion Productions" has been active and will continue to crank out videos for character skits and content reviews in the future. So until then I'll try to respond to any reviews given (By people with accounts. They don't give me the option to respond with guests) and will work to be more active in my ventures. **

**Until then guys, I hope you all have a very merry Christmas and until next time this has been Rogue Lion, signing off!**


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